Thank you very much, Ramon, for your response. Yes, I understand your "predatory marketing" point and I have never understood any difference between bittersweet and semisweet.

My question remains, however: in the subject website, is it "85% cocoa" or "minimum 53% cocoa content"? The website claims seem ambiguous to me. That is, I would think that "% cocoa" and "% cocoa content" are the same thing, but 85 and 53 are clearly not the same. What is it about adding the words "minimum" and "content" that changes meanings?

Consumers are now a target of predatory marketing strategies with the words Dark Chocolate. Did you know that in the United States there are no official guidelines on what can be labeled bittersweet or semisweet? The FDA requirement is that for chocolate to be labeled dark, bittersweet, or semisweet, it must contain at least 35 percent cacao with less than 12 percent milk solids (more milk solids, and its required to say its milk chocolate). At this point, consumers must be aware that a dark chocolate designation is left entirely to the manufacturer.

What are those percentages or ratios on the labels? When you are looking for dark chocolate, in todays market you will find Dark Chocolate with different percentages printed 90%, 75%, 70%, 65%, etc. These percentages indicate the percentage of cacao mass versus the content of other ingredients vis-a-vis, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and other natural or artificial flavors.