Standards Spotlight

Chocolate and flower bouquets may be the staple gifts for our significant others and other loved ones on Valentine’s Day, but creative romantics may have alternative plans up their sleeve for February 14.

Be Part of the Valentine’s Trend…

Many celebrating Valentine’s Day are opening their wallets to showcase their love in 2023: The National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics projects that this year, Valentine’s spending is expected to hit nearly $26 billion—one of the highest numbers on record. A survey with 7,616 respondents reveals that top gifts include candy (57%), greeting cards (40%), flowers (37%), an evening out (32%), jewelry (21%), gift cards (20%), and clothing (19%). Even among those who don’t plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day, 28% will still mark the occasion in some way, seeking non-Valentine’s gifts, treating themselves to something special, or planning a get-together or evening with single friends and family.

…Or Take the Creative Path to Show Your Love

For those taking a creative path to showcase their love, NPR’s recent podcast shares creative ideas, from hiring a documentary-style photographer, to the more budget conscious alternative of painting positive sentiments and messages with your love.  

Maybe you’re looking for a tranquil experience? Dress in your best and update your virtual or home album with a fresh set of photography, supported by standards. ANSI administers the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to ISO Technical Committee (TC) 42, Photography, sponsored by the Society for Imaging Science and Technology (IS&T), to coordinate national standards activities for existing and emerging photographic technology. 

You can also grab a seat and easel and paint inspirational messages with your love, supported by the standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization, ISO 8124-7:2015, Safety of toys - Part 7: Requirements and test methods for finger paints.

For those who opt to take the more classic approach with a heart shaped box of chocolates, standards from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) help assure a sweet moment: ISO 11053:2009, Vegetable fats and oils - Determination of cocoa butter equivalents in milk chocolate, specifies a procedure for the detection and quantification of cocoa butter equivalents (CBEs) and milk fat in milk chocolate. The standards ISO 23275-1:2006 and ISO 23275-2:2006 cover the animal and vegetable fats and oils in cocoa butter and plain chocolate. The standards were developed by ISO/TC 34, Food products, Subcommittee SC 11, Animal and vegetable fats. ANSI is the U.S. member body to ISO.

No matter what path you decide for your Valentine, standards are in place to support your celebration. Happy planning!