Why does a chocolate bar that turns pale in storage usually remain safe to eat?

Answer: Fat or sugar crystals gather on the surface without making the bar unsafe.

Fat or sugar crystals gather on the surface without making the bar unsafe. ✓ — Correct. Bloom is usually a surface rearrangement of fat or sugar crystals, not rot. The white cast can make texture and flavor worse while leaving the bar broadly edible. It looks like a failed finish more than a food-safety alarm.

Mold grows as a harmless white layer that can be wiped off the surface. — This is the mold misconception. A white layer can look microbial, and humidity can indeed create surface sugar crystals, but bloom itself is not mold growth. Mold would signal spoilage rather than the usual safe bloom.

Cocoa solids oxidize into a pale, safe compound while the texture stays fine. — This confuses crystal packing with chemical breakdown. The cocoa-butter molecules need not change; their arrangement can change and make the surface look dull. A pale bar can therefore look worse without the cocoa itself having spoiled.