Use of imaging to identify reused seasonal hollow chocolate figurines and prevent their distribution in a hospital setting

Computed tomography to rebut the myth that Easter and Christmas hollow chocolate figurines are reused and are edible safely

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN16847363

Enrollment

Registered

2020-07-02

Start date

2020-08-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2025-03-17

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Health implications of reused seasonal chocolate figures Not Specified

Interventions

A questionnaire will be distributed to both health care professionals and patients to ask for their belief in the urban myth, their willingness to consume chocolate Santas (given the chance they are E

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Survey: 1. Health-care professionals (i.e., doctors, nurses) 2. Patients from the two participating institutions Radiological measurement: 3. Easter chocolate figurines of different size and shape from various German manufacturers, purchased between April 01 and May 31 2020, and Christmas chocolate figurines of different size and shape from various German manufacturers, to be purchased from their first availability in stores and supermarkets (presumably early September 2020).

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Does not meet inclusion criteria

Design outcomes

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
1. Maximal length, breadth and depth the minimum, the mean and maximum thickness of the chocolate mantle, as well the minimum, mean, and maximum thickness of the figurine’s bottom or stand measured (mm) radiologically at a single timepoint 2. Radiation exposure (e.g. volume CT dose index, dose-length-product), scanning time, and time from arrival in the CT suite until the availability of morphologic measures at a single timepoint 3. Health-care professionals’ and patients’ belief in the urban myth that left-over chocolate Easter figurines are rewrapped and sold as Santas, and their willingness to consume chocolate Santas, given CT precluded they had been reused, measured by Likert-scales at a single timepoint 4. Consumption of expired chocolate and symptoms of food-poisoning thereafter measured using a novel questionnaire at a single timepoint	—

Measure

Time frame

1. Maximal length, breadth and depth the minimum, the mean and maximum thickness of the chocolate mantle, as well the minimum, mean, and maximum thickness of the figurine’s bottom or stand measured (mm) radiologically at a single timepoint 2. Radiation exposure (e.g. volume CT dose index, dose-length-product), scanning time, and time from arrival in the CT suite until the availability of morphologic measures at a single timepoint 3. Health-care professionals’ and patients’ belief in the urban myth that left-over chocolate Easter figurines are rewrapped and sold as Santas, and their willingness to consume chocolate Santas, given CT precluded they had been reused, measured by Likert-scales at a single timepoint 4. Consumption of expired chocolate and symptoms of food-poisoning thereafter measured using a novel questionnaire at a single timepoint

—

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Contour-Rating Scale (CRS), as assessed by two independent radiologists	—

Countries

Germany

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 13, 2026