Cocoa solids require the addition of extra cocoa butter to cocoa liquor, leading to a cocoa solids surplus and thus a relatively cheap supply of cocoa powder. This contrasts with the earliest European usage of cocoa where, before milk and dark chocolate was popularized, cocoa powder was the primary product and cocoa butter was little more than a waste product. Cocoa solids contain flavanol antioxidants, amounts of which are reduced if the cocoa is subjected to acid-reducing alkalization. Health benefits have been attributed to cocoa flavonoids. Natural cocoa powder has a light brown color and an extractable pH of 5.3 to 5.8.
Chocolate ice cream standards for food, states that the flavor in chocolate ice cream must come from nonfat cocoa solids that must comprise at least 2.0-2.5% of the mix weight. The US Code of Federal Regulations "permits reductions in the content of milk fat and total milk solids by a factor of 2.5 times the weight of the cocoa solids", in order to take into account the use of additional sweeteners. The minimum fat content of chocolate ice cream in both Canada and the United States is 8%, irrespective of the amount of chocolate sweetener in the recipe. Chocolate ice cream is sold