Decree No. 490 / 2025 Coll.
Decree on the requirements for natural sweeteners, sweeteners, confectionery, cocoa beans, cocoa and chocolate products and honey
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Effective from 14.06.2026
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14.06.2026
27.11.2025
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490
DECLARATION
of 19 November 2025
on the requirements for natural sweeteners, food with sweetening effects, confectionery, cocoa beans, cocoa and chocolate products and honey
According to Article 18 (1) (a), (b), (g), (h) and (i) of Act No. 110 / 1997 Coll., on Food and Tobacco Products and on the amendment and addition of certain related laws, as amended by Act No. 119 / 2000 Coll., Act No. 306 / 2000 Coll., Act No. 146 / 2002 Coll., Act No. 131 / 2003 Coll., Act No. 274 / 2003 Coll., Act No. 316 / 2004 Coll., Act No. 120 / 2008 Coll., Act No. 139 / 2014 Coll., and Act No. 180 / 2016 Coll. ("Act '):
Subject matter
This decree implements the relevant provisions of the European Union1), following the directly applicable regulations of the European Union2) and provides for
(a) the method of providing information on natural sweeteners, sweeteners, confectionery, cocoa products, chocolate products and honey;
(b) the types of natural sweeteners, sweeteners, confectionery, cocoa products, chocolate products and honey, broken down into groups and subgroups;
(c) for each type of natural sweeteners, confectionery, cocoa products, chocolate products and honey, quality requirements, technological requirements, quality requirements related to the name and permitted negative weight differences of the package,
(d) for cocoa beans
1. temperature modes and relative humidity during storage,
2. methods of storage and handling during marketing,
3. minimum technological requirements; and
(e) the conditions for large-volume transport of sugars by sea.
Definition of certain terms
(1) For the purposes of this decree:
(a) by natural sweetener, all sugars in the form of monosaccharides and disaccharides, their mixtures and aqueous solutions;
(b) dextrose purified by crystallized D-glucose monohydrate with one crystal water molecule or crystallized D-glucose purified without crystal water content;
(c) fructose purified by crystallized D-fructose,
(d) sugar-purified crystallized sucrose,
(e) sugar with ingredients, sugar to which aroma3 has been added) or spices,
(f) sugar flour with anti-grubbing substances sugar in the form of flour to which native starch has been added,
(g) candyse-refined sugar in the form of large crystals and their white, yellow to brown clots;
(h) glucose syrup purified by a concentrated aqueous solution of sugars suitable for human consumption, obtained from starch or inulin or a combination thereof;
(i) dried glucose syrup partially dried glucose syrup with at least 93% by weight of dry matter,
(j) liquid sugar aqueous sucrose solution,
(k) a liquid invert sugar aqueous sucrose solution partially inverted by hydrolysis in which the proportion of invert sugar does not outweigh,
(l) invert sugar syrup, an aqueous sucrose solution with possible crystallisation which has been partly inverted by hydrolysis, the invert sugar content being greater than 50% by weight of dry matter,
(m) food with a sweetening effect of a food based on monosaccharides, disaccharides and oligosaccharides derived from plants, containing other naturally occurring organic and inorganic substances, with the possible addition of other ingredients which are processed by appropriate technological processes into different forms,
(n) cane sugar partly purified sucrose, obtained by crystallization from partially purified sugar cane juice without further cleaning, except centrifugation or drying, and characterised by sucrose crystals covered by a layer of cane molasses,
(o) caramel syrup food in light to dark orange or brown orange colour and sweet taste produced by heat heating carbohydrates, possibly with the addition of other ingredients.
(2) For the purposes of this Order, the following definitions shall also apply:
(a) a confectionery containing a basic ingredient consisting of natural sweeteners, sweeteners (4) or their combinations and other ingredients and not satisfying the requirements laid down for natural sweeteners, cocoa products or chocolate products;
(b) candytic matter, free form of sugar, with a water content not exceeding 3% produced from an aqueous sucrose solution and glucose syrup.
(3) For the purposes of this Order, the following definitions shall also apply:
(a) cocoa beans fermented and dried seeds of Theobroma cacao L.,
(b) cocoa butter fat obtained from cocoa beans or parts thereof,
(c) fat obtained from cocoa beans or parts thereof not complying with the requirements laid down for cocoa butter;
(d) cocoa powder or cocoa cocoa product obtained from cocoa beans which have been cleaned, skinned and roasted, put up in powder form and containing 20% or more of cocoa butter due to dry matter and up to 9% of water,
(e) chocolate for the preparation of a drink, sweetened cocoa or sweetened cocoa powder, a cocoa product made from a mixture of cocoa and natural sweeteners, sweeteners or a combination thereof, containing at least 25% cocoa,
(f) chocolate powder cocoa product made from a mixture of cocoa and natural sweeteners, sweeteners or combinations thereof, containing at least 32% cocoa.
(4) For the purposes of this Order, the following definitions shall also apply:
(a) the crush of cocoa resulting from the crushing of cocoa beans which have been cleaned and de-husked;
(b) the cocoa matter resulting from the grinding of the cocoa pulp,
(c) the cocoa extract resulting from the extraction of cocoa butter by pressing of cocoa paste,
(d) the cocoa ingredient product obtained from cocoa beans used for the manufacture of chocolate referred to in points (a) to (c) and (b) to (d) of paragraph 3;
(e) chocolate chocolate product made from cocoa ingredients, natural sweeteners, sweeteners or combinations thereof, or from other ingredients, where appropriate;
(f) a milk chocolate product made from cocoa constituents, natural sweeteners, sweeteners or their combinations, or other ingredients, containing at least 14% milk solids obtained from concentrated or dried whole milk, semi-milk or skimmed milk, cream, concentrated or dried cream, butter or milk fat,
(g) milk chocolate product made from cocoa ingredients, natural sweeteners, sweeteners or their combinations, or other ingredients, containing at least 20% milk dry matter obtained from concentrated or dried whole milk, semi-milk or skimmed milk, cream or concentrated or dried cream, butter or milk fat;
(h) a white chocolate chocolate product made from cocoa butter, possibly from other ingredients, containing at least 14% milk solids obtained from concentrated or dried whole milk, semi-skimmed milk or skimmed milk, cream or concentrated or dried cream, butter or milk fat, and possibly other ingredients, natural sweeteners, sweeteners or their combinations;
(i) a filled chocolate or chocolate filled with a chocolate product, the outer layer of which consists of chocolate, milk chocolate, milk chocolate for cooking or white chocolate, the inner filling of which must not be composed of bakery products, fine bread, biscuits or frozen creams, the outer content of which being at least 25% of the total weight of the product;
(j) Chocolate a la taza chocolate product made from cocoa ingredients, natural sweeteners, sweeteners or their combinations, flour or wheat, rice or maize starch, possibly from other ingredients, with a flour or starch content not exceeding 8%,
(k) Chocolate familiar a la taza chocolate product made from cocoa constituents, natural sweeteners, sweeteners or their combinations, flour or wheat, rice or maize starch, and possibly from other ingredients, the flour or starch content being not more than 18%,
(l) a chocolate chocolate chocolate product of a size of one bite made from chocolate, from one type of chocolate or from a combination or mixture of chocolate referred to in points (e) to (h) and other edible ingredients, the total chocolate content being at least 25% of the total weight of the product.
(5) For the purposes of this Order, the following definitions shall also apply:
(a) honey-based natural sweet substance produced by honey bees, Apis mellifera, from nectar plants or from discards of live parts of plants, or from discharges of insects sucking on plants which are found on live parts of plants which collect bees, reconstitute blending with their own specific substances and store, dehydrate, store and leave to lay and ripen in honey sheets;
(b) honey of flowers or nectar, obtained from nectar of plants,
(c) honey honey of honey or forest honey, originating mainly from the secretions of Hemiptera insects which suck on plants located on live parts of plants or from the secretions of live parts of plants;
(d) honeycomb honey stored by bees in closed-cell non-foetal cells of their freshly built mantle or in thin base mantle made exclusively of beeswax, sold in sealed whole or parts of such mantle;
(e) honey with honeycomb containing one or more pieces of honeycomb honey,
(f) caudal honey honey obtained by the caudanisation of decanted protein-free tyres,
(g) honey obtained by the centrifugation of the decanter of the whey-free comb;
(h) honey pressed with honey obtained by pressing of childless tyres using or without a slight heating not exceeding + 45 ° C;
(i) baker's honey or industrial honey honey intended exclusively for industrial use or as an ingredient in other foodstuffs which are then processed and which may have a foreign flavour or odour or may have an initial fermentation or have been overheated or obtained by removing foreign inorganic or organic substances by removing significant quantities of pollen.
Natural sweeteners
(1) The breakdown of natural sweeteners into species, groups and sub-groups is set out in Annex 1 to this Decree.
(2) In addition to the information provided in the Regulation on the provision of information on foodstuffs to consumers (5), in the law and in the Decree on certain methods of labelling of foodstuffs (6), natural sweeteners should be given:
(a) dextrose name of the subgroup,
(b) fructose and caramel syrup name of the group; and
(c) sugar name of the group and sub-group.
(3) The sensory, physical and chemical quality requirements for natural sweeteners are set out in Annex 2 to this Decree, Tables 1 to 8.
(4) White sugar or extra white sugar may be referred to as "sugar."
(5) For liquid sugar, liquid invert sugar and invert sugar syrup, the dry matter content and the invert sugar content of the dry matter shall be indicated.
(1) The name "liquid sugar," "liquid invert sugar" and "invert sugar syrup" may be supplemented by the designation "white" if the physical and chemical requirements set out in Annex 2 to this Decree, Table 8, are met.
(2) Where invert sugar syrup contains sugar crystals, the label shall be marked "crystalline '.
(3) The designation "glucose syrup" will be changed to "glucose-fructose syrup" and the designation "dried glucose syrup" will be changed to "dried glucose-fructose syrup" if the product contains fructose in excess of 5% by weight in terms of dry matter and glucose content predominates over the fructose content, or it will become "fructose-glucose syrup" or "dried fructose-glucose syrup" if the fructose content predominates over the glucose content.
(4) The content of anti-grubbing substances in the case of flour sugar is allowed up to a maximum of 3%.
(5) Sugar should not be subjected to bluemaking.
(6) Sugar is stored at a relative humidity of not more than 70%.
(1) For packaged dextrose, fructose, extra white sugar, white sugar, semi-white sugar, candyse sugar, cane sugar, liquid sugar, liquid invert sugar, invert sugar syrup, glucose syrup and dried glucose syrup weighing less than 20 g, the net weight of the product need not be indicated on the package.
(2) The average quantity of consumer packages of natural sweeteners, with the exception of packages of up to 20 g referred to in paragraph 1, shall be the weight of consumer packages of natural sweeteners unpackaged, taking into account the negative weight deviation provided for in Annex 3 to this Decree, Tables 1 and 2.
(3) Glucose syrup may be referred to as "starch syrup." Dried glucose syrup may be referred to as "dried starch syrup."
Food with sweetened effects
(1) The breakdown of foods with sweetening effects on species, groups and subgroups is set out in Annex 4 to this Regulation.
(2) In addition to the information provided in the Regulation on the provision of food information to consumers, in the law and in the Decree on certain methods of labelling foodstuffs, the group and sub-group should be indicated for foods with sweetening effects.
Large-volume transport of raw sugar by sea
(1) Large-volume transport of raw sugar by sea is permitted in containers, containers or tanks not used exclusively for the transport of foodstuffs if:
(a) the containers, containers or tanks have been cleaned before loading of raw sugar in such a way as to remove the residues of the previous load and the residues of other impurities; and
(b) the load of raw sugar has not been preceded by bulk transport of liquids.
(2) Detailed documentation must be kept on the bulk transport of raw sugar by sea. This documentation shall contain a precise and detailed description of the cargo which was immediately transported in the container, container or tank and the manner and effectiveness of the cleaning process used before the transport of raw sugar. This documentation shall also clearly and indelibly indicate in one or more languages of the European Union: "This product must be refined before being used for human consumption. '
(3) The documentation referred to in paragraph 2 shall accompany the consignment throughout the transport to the sugar refining undertaking and a copy thereof shall be kept in that undertaking.
(4) The documentation referred to in paragraph 2 and a copy thereof must be submitted for inspection at the request of the supervisory authority (7).
(5) Raw sugar transported by sea in containers, containers or tanks not intended solely for the transport of foodstuffs can only be considered as suitable for use as food or as an ingredient of a foodstuff if it has undergone complete and effective refining.
(6) The procedure for cleaning containers, containers or tanks before loading the raw sugar referred to in paragraph 1 (a) must be carried out in such a way that, given the nature of the cargo transported, there is no risk of a health breach for refined sugar.
Confectionery
(1) The breakdown of confectionery into groups and subgroups is set out in Annex 5 to this order.
(2) In addition to the information provided in the Regulation on the provision of food information to consumers, in the law and in the Decree on certain methods of labelling foodstuffs, the name of the group and the sub-group should be given for sugar products.
(3) The quality and technological requirements for confectionery are set out in Annex 6 to this Decree.
(4) The physical and chemical quality requirements for sugar confectionery are set out in Annex 7 to this Decree.
(5) The average quantity of consumer packages of sugar confectionery shall be the weight of the consumer package of sugar confectionery without packaging, taking into account the permitted negative weight deviation in accordance with Annex 8 to this Decree.
Cocoa beans
(1) Cocoa beans are stored separately from substances with distinct odours and odours.
(2) Cocoa beans must be protected from direct sunlight when placed on the market.
(3) The moisture content of cocoa beans during marketing must not exceed 8%.
(4) Cocoa beans are stored at a relative humidity of not more than 70%.
Cocoa products
(1) The breakdown of cocoa products into groups is set out in Annex 9 to this Decree.
(2) In addition to the information provided in the Regulation on the provision of food information to consumers, in the law and in the Decree on certain methods of labelling foodstuffs, the group should be indicated for cocoa products.
(3) In the case of powdered chocolate and chocolate for the preparation of a drink, the total content of cocoa dry matter, by weight, shall be indicated as "at least...% of cocoa dry matter" or "at least...% of cocoa dry matter."
(4) Cocoa and cocoa / sugar mixtures shall be marked with the words "reduced fat" if the cocoa butter content is less than 20% by weight of the dry matter of the product. The label shall indicate the actual content of cocoa butter.
(5) Flavors that mimic the taste of chocolate or milk fat cannot be added to cocoa powder, cocoa powder with reduced fat content, chocolate powder, chocolate to prepare a drink and chocolate to prepare a drink with reduced fat.
(1) The physical and chemical quality requirements for cocoa powder are set out in Annex 10 to this Regulation.
(2) The physical and chemical quality requirements for cocoa butter are set out in Annex 11 to this Regulation.
(3) The average quantity of consumer packaging of cocoa products shall be the weight of the consumer packaging of cocoa products without packaging, taking into account the permitted negative weight deviation in accordance with Annex 12 to this Decree.
Chocolate products
(1) The breakdown of chocolate products per group is given in Annex 13 to this Decree.
(2) In addition to the information provided in the Regulation on the provision of food information to consumers, in the law and in the Decree on certain methods of labelling foodstuffs, the labelling of chocolate products should be indicated
(a) the name of the group;
(b) the seasoning ingredient; and
(c) in the case of filled chocolate and chocolate sweets, the type of filling or filling, in the case of filled chocolate, the type of outer layer referred to in Article 2 (4) (i).
(3) If the name of the chocolate is supplemented by the label
(a) "rice" or "flakes," the product must be marketed in the form of grains or flakes and must contain at least 32% of total cocoa dry matter, at least 12% of cocoa butter and at least 14% of non-fat cocoa dry matter,
(b) "icing," the product must contain at least 35% of total cocoa dry matter, at least 31% of cocoa butter and at least 2,5% of non-fat cocoa dry matter, or
(c) nut chocolate "gianduja" or derived from the word "gianduja" must be made from chocolate containing at least 32% of total cocoa dry matter and at least 8% of non-fat cocoa dry matter and finely ground hazelnuts in a quantity of not less than 20 g and not more than 40 g of hazelnuts in 100 g of the product; the following other ingredients can be added:
1. milk or milk powder, obtained from concentrated or dried whole milk, semi-milk or skimmed milk, cream or concentrated or dried cream, in such a quantity that the total milk dry matter content of the final product does not exceed 5% by weight of the product; or
2. almonds and other types of nuts, whole or in fractions, in such a quantity that the total content of these ingredients, including hazelnuts, does not exceed 60% of the total weight of the product.
(4) Where the name of the milk chocolate is supplemented by the indication:
(a) "rice" or "flakes," the product must be marketed in the form of grains or flakes and must contain at least 20% of total cocoa dry matter, at least 12% milk dry matter, obtained from concentrated or dried whole milk, semi-milk or skimmed milk, cream or concentrated or dried cream, butter or milk fat, and at least 12% of total fat, meaning the sum of the cocoa butter and milk fat content,
(b) "icing," the product must contain at least 31% of total fat, meaning the sum of the cocoa butter and milk fat content; or
(c) must be made from milk chocolate containing 10% or more of dry matter obtained from concentrated or dried whole milk, semi-skimmed milk or skimmed milk, cream or concentrated or dried cream, butter or milk fat and from finely ground hazelnut in a quantity of not less than 15 g and not more than 40 g in 100 g of the product; almonds and other types of nuts, whole or broken, may also be added in such quantities that the total content, including hazelnuts, does not exceed 60% of the total weight of the product.
(5) If the word "milk" in the food name "milk chocolate" is replaced by "
(a) "cream," the product must contain at least 5,5% milk fat, or
(b) "skimmed milk milk milk" shall not exceed 1% of the total milk fat content of the product.
(6) For the name of chocolate, milk chocolate and chocolate coating of chocolate or milk chocolate, information on the higher quality of the products or descriptions of the quality characteristics may be added provided that:
(a) chocolate contains at least 43% of total cocoa dry matter and at least 26% of cocoa butter;
(b) milk chocolate contains at least 30% of the total cocoa dry matter, at least 18% of the milk dry matter and at least 4,5% of the milk fat in the milk dry matter, obtained from concentrated or dried whole milk, semi-skimmed or skimmed milk, cream or concentrated, where appropriate, dried cream, butter or milk fat, and
(c) chocolate coating shall contain at least 16% fat-free cocoa dry matter.
(1) For chocolate, milk chocolate, milk chocolate for cooking, Chocolate a la taza a Chocolate familiar a la taza, the total dry matter content of cocoa ingredients expressed as a percentage of the total weight of the product shall be indicated by the words "cocoa dry matter at least...%" or "cocoa dry matter content at least...%."
(2) In the case of chocolate, milk chocolate, milk chocolate for cooking, white chocolate, chocolate stuffed or chocolate confectionery sold at the same time in a mixture in a single package, the product can only be labelled as "chocolate mixture," "chocolate-filled collection" or similar names. In this case one list of ingredients may be provided for all chocolates in the mixture.
(3) Other ingredients may be added to chocolate, milk chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, Chocolate a la taza a Chocolate familiar a la taza may be added up to 40% of the total weight of the product.
(4) Chocolate, milk chocolate, milk chocolate for cooking, white chocolate, Chocolate a la taza a Chocolate familiar a la taza is forbidden to add
(a) animal fats which do not come exclusively from milk; or
(b) flour, granulated or powdered starches, except Chocolate a la taza a Chocolate familiar a la taza.
(5) Chocolate, milk chocolate, milk chocolate for cooking, white chocolate, Chocolate a la taza a Chocolate familiar a la taza cannot be added flavourings that mimic the taste of chocolate or milk fat.
(6) The calculation of the percentages of the specified ingredients and their values in chocolate products is carried out in this way
(a) the percentage of the specified ingredients in chocolate, milk chocolate, milk chocolate for cooking, white chocolate, Chocolate a la taza a Chocolate familiar a la taza is calculated after deduction of the weight of the added edible ingredients,
(b) in the case of chocolate and chocolate chocolates, the percentage of the specified ingredients is calculated after deduction of the weight of the added edible ingredients and the weight of the filling; or
(c) the percentage of chocolate used for chocolate and chocolate chocolates shall be calculated in relation to the total weight of the final product, including filling.
(1) The physical and chemical quality requirements for chocolate products are set out in Annex 14 to this Decree, Table 1.
(2) In addition to cocoa butter, chocolate, milk chocolate, milk chocolate for cooking, white chocolate, Chocolate a la taza a Chocolate familiar a la taza add the vegetable fats listed in Annex 14 to this Decree, Table 2. However, their proportion shall not exceed 5% in the product after deduction of the total weight of all other edible ingredients used and shall not be reduced by the minimum content of cocoa butter or total cocoa dry matter.
(3) Chocolate to which vegetable fat may be added in accordance with paragraph 2 shall be labelled "contain vegetable fats in addition to cocoa butter." This figure shall be given in the same field of vision as the list of ingredients but clearly separated from it and in at least the same letters as the composition.
(4) The average quantity of consumer packaging of chocolate products shall be the weight of the consumer packaging of chocolate products without packaging, taking into account the permitted negative weight deviation in accordance with Annex 15 to this Decree.
(5) The use of coconut oil is permitted in chocolate used in the manufacture of frozen creams.
Honey
(1) According to origin, honey is divided into floral and honey into honey.
(2) According to the method of production or presentation, honey is divided into:
(a) dialed honey,
(b) comb honey,
(c) pressed honey,
(d) cemented honey,
(e) honey with trimmings; and
(f) baker's honey.
(3) In addition to the information provided in the Regulation on the provision of food information to consumers, in the law and in the Decree on certain methods of labelling of foodstuffs, honey should be further marked
(a) originating under paragraph 1;
(b) the method of acquisition or presentation referred to in paragraph 2; and
(c) the countries or countries of origin where it was collected; where it comes from more than one country, the country of origin where it was collected shall be indicated on the label in the main field of vision in descending order of their proportion of weight, together with the percentage represented by each of those countries of origin; a tolerance of 5%, calculated on the basis of the operator's traceability documentation, for each individual proportion of the mixture.
(4) The designation of honey, with the exception of baker's honey, may be supplemented by:
(a) information on regional, territorial or local origin, where the product originates entirely from that source of origin;
(b) in relation to the origin of the honey referred to in paragraph 1, the name "single-ring" or "mixed,"
(c) information on the origin of the flowers or parts of plants from which it originates, where the product originates wholly or mainly from that source and has the corresponding organoleptic, physicochemical and microscopic characteristics corresponding to that origin; or
(d) specific quality criteria.
(5) In the case of dialed, pressed or castrated honey, the origin referred to in paragraph 1 and the method of extraction and presentation referred to in paragraph 2 need not be indicated and the product may only be referred to as "honey '.
(6) baker's honey must be marked on all packages near the name by indicating that the honey is intended only for cooking, baking or other processing.
(1) Bakery honey shall be marked with "baker's honey" or "industrial honey" on transport containers, packaging and commercial documents. Where baker's honey is added to another kind of honey, the mixture of these honey shall be referred to as "baker's honey 'or" industrial honey'.
(2) Where baker's honey is used as an ingredient in a compound food, the word "honey 'may be used in the name of that foodstuff instead of" baker's honey' or "industrial honey '. However, the name" baker's honey' or "industrial honey 'shall always appear in the list of ingredients.
(3) In the case of packages containing honey of a net weight of less than 30 g, the names of the countries of origin may be replaced by a two-letter code in accordance with the International Standard ISO 3166-1 for two-letter codes (alpha--2).
(4) The sensual, physical and chemical quality requirements for honey are set out in Annex 16 to this Decree.
(5) No food, including food additives, may be added to or added to honey when placed on the market or when used in any product intended for human consumption. Honey consists primarily of various sugars, mainly glucose and fructose, and other substances such as organic acids, enzymes and solid particles caught in the collection of honey. Honey shall not contain foreign organic or inorganic substances which do not fall within its composition.
(6) No pollen or other specific part of honey shall be removed from honey, except where this cannot be prevented when disposing of foreign inorganic and organic substances.
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Regulation Information
| Citation | Decree No. 490 / 2025 Coll., on the requirements for natural sweeteners, sweeteners, confectionery, cocoa beans, cocoa and chocolate products and honey |
|---|---|
| Regulation Type | Order |
| Author | - |
| Collection | Code of Laws |
| Date of Promulgation | 27.11.2025 |
|---|---|
| Effective from | 14.06.2026 |
| Effective until | - |
| Status | Valid |
The regulation text is for informational purposes only.
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