Dark Chocolate

Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's Pound Plus 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate Bar

Good high confidence
  1. Meets Good tier requirements: 72% cacao exceeds 55% threshold, cocoa butter is primary fat, no artificial flavors present, and avoids all Good tier disqualifiers including alkalized cocoa, PGPR, and partially hydrogenated oils

  2. Disqualified from Very Good tier due to complete absence of Fair Trade or Direct Trade certification, no organic certification, and lacks the recognizable ingredient standard for natural vanilla bean versus vague natural vanilla flavor

  3. Disqualified from Excellent tier due to missing all required certifications (organic certified cacao, Fair Trade/Direct Trade), no single origin or bean-to-bar verification, and zero sourcing transparency beyond Belgian manufacturing location

Ingredient Integrity acceptable_with_weaknesses
Processing Level conventional_acceptable
Evidence & Transparency weak_geographic_only
Product Quality conventional_acceptable_value_oriented
Cocoa masssugarcocoa buttersoy lecithin (emulsifier)natural vanilla flavor

Imported from Belgium. Product is manufactured in Belgium and distributed through Trader Joe's retail channel. The Pound Plus line represents Trader Joe's value-oriented approach to premium-style chocolate products.

Country of origin clearly stated as Belgium. Ingredient list publicly available through major retailer channels. No organic, kosher, non-GMO, or gluten-free certifications visible in public retailer data.

Origin Belgium
Last verified May 2026