Here's why the FDA won't let Starbucks use the term 'chocolate chip'

Advertisement

If you've ordered a number of sweet Starbucks beverages - the Double Chocolaty Chip Creme Frappuccino, for example - you might have noticed that these chips are not chocolate, but instead "chocolaty."

Advertisement

The reason for this isn't a bizarre marketing scheme on Starbucks' part. It's because of the US Food and Drug Administration's definition of the chocolate chip.

You see, Starbucks' chocolaty chips do not fit into the strict definition of an American chocolate chip, reports Consumerist.

Starbucks' chips' percentage of actual cocoa bean is too low to qualify as a true chocolate chip. That makes the little nibs perfect for melting, but less ideal in the dictionary definition of the term.

Advertisement

Other brands that have had to reframe their names includes Eggo's Waffles, which sells Eggo Bites Chocolatey Chips Pancakes, and Oreo, which once filled a Cookie Dough flavor with "chocolatey chip" filling.

NOW WATCH: This Starbucks hack will save you $2 on one of its coffee drinks