What viral ‘Dubai chocolate’ is REALLY doing to your body – from hyperactive kids to gut health nightmare
THE viral Dubai chocolate bar has taken the UK by storm sending many chocoholics into a major frenzy.
And to keep up with the demand, several shops are stocking dupes of the popular pistachio-flavoured treat.
But an investigation by The Sun has discovered some retailers producing this “luxury” chocolate are actually using cheap ingredients, along with additives and emulsifiers linked to poor health.
Additives and emulsifiers are ingredients used in ultra-processed foods to stop them going “mouldy”, giving them more shelf life.
The Dubai chocolate bar is milk chocolate with a gooey filling that consists of a thin, shredded pastry called Kunafa – a Dubai dessert – mixed with pistachio cream.
It’s taken off worldwide, but the original was first sold by the UAE-based FIX Dessert Chocolatier in 2022.
The bars are hefty in weight and can also vary in flavourings as long as it contains Kunafa.
Now, retailers across the UK – both large and small – are copying the recipe. But at what cost?
Martin Giles, owner of Daisies, a chocolatier in Belfast, said: “Kunafa – the fried filo pastry that gives the shredded wheat type middle of Dubai chocolate – would mould too fast for mass production so the imitation bars come full of additives and emulsifiers and milk powders.
“They’re all ingredients that good chocolatiers don’t touch.”
Teddie Faulds, founder of Sweet & Wild, agreed that Dubai Chocolate was “conveyor belt fast food“.
She said: “Generally speaking, cheaply produced ingredients come from farms using high volumes of pesticides to maximise crop production.”
Kevin Rail is a health coach, nutrition specialist and personal trainer who has tried the real thing in Dubai and says it’s “radically different” from supermarket versions here.
He said: “A lot of ‘Dubai-style’ chocolate is mass-produced elsewhere and slapped with premium branding.
“If you’re paying more than 35 AED in Dubai or roughly £7 in the UK for a 100g bar, it better list raw cacao or non-alkalised as its primary ingredient.
“Real Dubai chocolate doesn’t hide behind emulsifiers.”
12 COMMON ADDITIVES
Dietitian Maria Dow’s guide to a dozen common additives:
- Nitrates and nitrites (E249-252): These preservatives include potassium nitrate and sodium nitrate and are found in cured meat, such as bacon and ham, to give a salty, cured flavour and protect against food poisoning.
MPs have called for a ban after they were associated with bowel, breast and prostate cancer. Nitrates also occur naturally in vegetables like Brussels sprouts, broccoli and spinach but in safer, much less concentrated quantities. - Sunset yellow (E110): This is found in jellies, sweets, chips, biscuits, cake decorations, soft drinks and instant noodles and is one of the artificial colours that comes with a warning from the Food Standards Agency. It is a chemical compound and therefore harder for your body to break down and can lead to hyperactivity in some children.
- Ascorbic acid (E300): A naturally occurring additive that is another name for vitamin C. This is actually good for us. It is found in fruit juices and dried fruit, such as raisins, and is used to prolong shelf life.
- Curcumin (E100): Another naturally occurring additive which gives salad dressing, sauces and frozen curries their yellowy orange colour. It derives from the spice turmeric and has anti-inflammatory benefits.
- Aspartame (E951): A man-made sweetener used to replace sugar in sugar-free drinks and foods, especially puddings. Some people experience headaches and joint pain from it.
- Sorbitol (E420): Found in sugar-free mints, sweets and milkshakes, this is a sugar alcohol six times sweeter than sugar. It can cause gut and digestive problems in around one in ten people.
- Saccharin (E954): Another sugar substitute found in sweeteners, this is extremely sweet and safe if eaten in small quantities.
- Lecithin (E322): An emulsifier found in mayonnaise, smoothies, chocolate and ice cream used to mix oil and water-based ingredients. Not harmful, but too much can cause an upset tummy.
- Shellac (E904): This glazing agent is used to give food like chocolate a shiny finish. It can be natural or synthetic and provides no nutritional value.
- Monosodium Glutamate (E621): Better known as MSG, this flavour enhancer stimulates taste bud receptors. A small proportion of people have reactions of headaches, sweating, heart palpitations and numbness in the face and neck.
- Xylitol (E967): A natural sugar alcohol found in plants, fruit and vegetables and used as a sugar substitute in chewing gum, sweets and toothpastes. It is recommended in amounts up to about 50 grams daily but can cause diarrhoea in some people.
- Xanthan gum (E415): This is a natural additive produced from sugar and molasses and used as a thickening agent and emulsifier. In quantities contained in food, it should not lead to side-effects.
Rob Hobson, a registered nutritionist in the UK, says emulsifiers have become a “focus of emerging research, mostly in animal models or lab-based human gut simulations”.
“Some studies suggest that certain emulsifiers like polysorbate 80 and carboxymethylcellulose may disrupt the gut microbiota and contribute to low-grade inflammation when consumed frequently and in large quantities,” he said.
The author of Unprocess Your Family Life says, however, that it doesn’t matter where you get your chocolate from – it’s still a “treat”.
“The key nutritional concern is less about where it’s made and more about how often and how much people are eating it,” he tells The Sun.
“All these bars, regardless of origin, are high in sugar and saturated fat and designed to be moreishly addictive, so portion and frequency are what matter most.
“Even some of the original Dubai bars contain additives……they may be handmade or positioned as premium products, many still include emulsifiers to maintain that signature gooey texture and stop ingredients from separating especially if the product is being exported.
“So while there’s a perception that these are ‘cleaner’ or more natural, that doesn’t always hold up once you check the label.”
E-numbers decoded
Selfridges sell a Dubai Chocolate (Bateel bar) that has a high cocoa content (44 per cent) but still uses emulsifiers, additives, milk powder and flavourings.
Even independent chocolatiers marketing artisan products are jumping on the bandwagon and imitating taste through dozens of bizarre ingredients.
Sweet Tree by Browns in London has produced a 600g, £11.99 bar with almost 40 ingredients.
They have a “shelf life” of 180 days thanks to a list of emulsifiers (e-numbers) that stop it going off.
Cocoa and Paper in Leighton Buzzard, which describes its products as “specialised and handmade”, makes a pistachio and kunafa bar costing £14.98 for 220g online.
Rob notes that it contains potassium aluminium silicate (E555), used as a carrier for colours, and colourants like titanium dioxide (E171), iron oxides (E172), quinoline yellow (E104), and brilliant blue (E133).
Rob says: “These ingredients have been the subject of safety reviews in recent years.
Sweet Tree statement
Sweet Tree chocolates are produced in strict adherence to UK and EU food safety regulations, ensuring that all ingredients, including emulsifiers and soy lecithin, are safe for consumption.
We take transparency seriously, and all ingredients are clearly listed on our packaging, in full compliance with UK food labelling laws.
The use of soy lecithin in our products is standard in the industry and helps maintain the texture and stability of the chocolate.
While soy lecithin is derived from soybeans, the trace presence of hexane from the extraction process is minimal and falls well within the safety limits set by food safety authorities.
There is no evidence to suggest that food-grade lecithin presents any health risk when consumed as part of a balanced diet.
We are committed to providing high-quality, safe products and take great care in sourcing our ingredients from reputable suppliers who meet the highest standards.
Any concerns regarding food safety should be addressed based on scientific evidence, and we stand by the safety of our products.
“E555 is a naturally occurring compound used as an anti-caking agent and colour carrier.
“While currently approved, it contains aluminium, which is known to accumulate in the body and has raised some questions about long-term exposure, though again, in food, it’s used in very small quantities.
“E171 has been banned in the EU since 2022 for use in food, based on a precautionary principle due to concerns around nano-particles and genotoxicity which is its potential to damage DNA.
“While the evidence isn’t conclusive and the amounts used in food are small, the concern is enough that regulatory bodies are recommending caution.
“E104 and E133 are still approved for use in the UK, but some studies, particularly in children, have suggested that certain synthetic colours may contribute to hyperactivity or attention issues in sensitive individuals.”
The chocolate bar comes with a health warning that it “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children”.
Cocoa and Paper owner Elisa Lionetti said the e-numbers in her product were only because of the “paint” used to decorate them.
“As a responsible, small business owner I feel I need to list all ingredients of the whole product for the wellbeing of my customers,” she said.
Granted, chocolate isn’t known for being ‘good for you’ – but the real stuff does, in fact, have health benefits to the heart, brain and mood.
But milk chocolate usually contains too much sugar to have the health benefits of good quality chocolate.
The Lindt Dubai Style Chocolate Pistachio & Kadayif contains a whopping 815 calories in the total 145g bar – it’s empty calories, because there are zero health benefits to this sugar-laden bar.
The bars made by Sweet Tree, Cocoa Paper and Selfidges all contain soy lecithin.
“Soy lecithin isn’t inherently harmful and is widely considered safe,” says Rob. “You can find it in lots of everyday foods.
“However, its presence does reflect the level of processing, which is something to consider if we’re comparing these bars to the more artisanal or ‘fresher’ versions that some Dubai chocolate brands claim to offer.”
What’s clear is that most people are likely already consuming e-numbers, additives and emulsifiers if they buy chocolate bars in the UK.
“I probably wouldn’t single out any one additive as inherently dangerous, but I do think these are good indicators of a highly processed product.
“If you’re indulging occasionally, there’s no harm in either version.
“But if these bars become a regular habit, then the nutritional profile, high in sugar, saturated fat, and engineered for maximum appeal, matters far more than whether it’s made in Dubai or the UK.”
The Sun has approached Selfridges and Lindt for comment.