Changes

The latter 19th century continued to see improvements in machines that made the taste and quality of chocolate better, as it allowed creamy and rich chocolate to be made that left no aftertaste. With the increasing popularity of chocolate, the rise of fraudulent chocolate or imitation products emerged. European countries soon moved to create food standards and guidelines that protected chocolate and its quality so that imitation products could not be falsely advertised. At the same time, prices of cocoa began to drop dramatically in the 1890s and 1900s. This now meant that chocolate could be purchased by a much wider middle class. Production also began to shift away from the New World and production increased of cocoa in Asia and Africa. This helped to depress the price of cocoa for growers, but enabled it to be a mass consumptive product at even greater levels.