Cocoa production

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) jointiy sponsor the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which conducts a program for developing worldwide food standards. The Codex Committee for Cocoa Products and Chocolate has developed standards for chocolate (Codex Standard 87-1981), and cocoa powders and dry cocoa—sugar mixtures (Codex Standard 105-1981). As a member of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the United States is obligated to consider all Codex standards for acceptance. 

The cocoa bean is the basic raw ingredient in the manufacture of all cocoa products. The beans are converted to chocolate Hquor, the primary ingredient from which all chocolate and cocoa products are made. Eigure 1 depicts the conversion of cocoa beans to chocolate Hquor, and in turn to the chief chocolate and cocoa products manufactured in the United States, ie, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, and sweet and milk chocolate. 

New cocoa hybrids and selections have been developed in Malaysia and other countries that produce significantly higher yields in select soil and climate conditions. In addition, high density plantings have demonstrated higher and earlier yield in Malaysia and the Philippines. Low or no shade cocoa has also proven to increase yields. However, both high density and reduced shade cocoa production requires additional inputs of management and nutrition. Additional inputs to control pests and diseases also maybe required. 

Blending. Most chocolate and cocoa products consist of blends of beans chosen for flavor and color characteristics. Cocoa beans may be blended before or after roasting, or nibs may be blended before grinding. In some cases finished Hquors are blended. Common, or basic beans, are usually African or BraziUan and constitute the bulk of most blends. More expensive flavor beans from Venezuela, Trinidad, Ecuador, etc are added to impart specific characteristics. The blend is deterrnined by the end use or type of product desired. 

Cocoa Powder Manufacture. When chocolate Hquor is exposed to pressures of 34—41 MPa (5000—6000 psig) in a hydrauHc press, and part of the fat (cocoa butter) is removed, cocoa cake (compressed powder) is produced. The original pot presses used in cocoa production had a series of pots mounted vertically one above the other. These have been supplanted by horizontal presses that have four to twenty-four pots mounted in a horizontal frame. The newer presses are capable of complete automation, and by careflil selection of pressure, temperature, and time of pressing, cocoa cake of a specified fat content can be produced. 

Chocolate and cocoa products supply proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. The Chocolate Manufacturers Association of the United States ... 

McLean, Virginia) completed a nutritional analysis from 1973 to 1976 of a wide variety of chocolate and cocoa products representative of those generally ... 

Keport of Codex Committee on Cocoa Products and Chocolate, Codex Mlimentarious Commission, 10th Session, Geneva, Switzerland, 1974. 

Codex Standards for Cocoa Products and Chocolate, Cocoa Butter Standard 86-1981, CodexMlimentarius, VoL VII, 1st ed.. Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Program, 1981. 

The methylxanthines of interest are caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine), theophylline (1,3-dimethylxanthine), and theobromine (3,7-dimethylxanthine) and they occur in coffee, tea, mate, cocoa products, and cola beverages. This chapter is an introduction to their chemistry, isolation, and biosynthesis. While the class of methylxanthines is large and comprised of more members than these three, this chapter will essentially be limited to caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline. 

In 1895, the worldwide production of raw cocoa or unroasted cocoa beans was about 75,000 metric tons. One hundred years later, raw cocoa production has increased almost 40-fold to the forecasted 1995-1996 production of 2,760,000 metric tons (Table 2).15 The majority of today s world cocoa supply comes from Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and the Republic of Cameroon even though cacao is not indigenous to east Africa. Although Africa historically has been and still is the largest producer of the world s cocoa supply, the relative quantities produced within African countries... 

Consumption represents cocoa bean grindings adjusted by net imports or exports of cocoa products and chocolate converted into bean equivalents in thousands of metric tons (per capita, kg). 

Meyers, E., Graham, A., Finnegan, E., Kreiser, W., Chocolate and cocoa products, in Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemical Analysis, vol 9, John Wiley Sons, New York, 1970, 534. 

Cocoa production has dramatically increased since 1980, from worldwide production of 1.6 million metric tons to 2.6 in 1994, a 60% increase (Table 8).1118There does appear to be somewhat of a leveling in production since 1990 when 2.5 million metric tons of cocoa beans were produced. Africa is the largest producer of cocoa, contributing over 50% of the total worldwide production. The Ivory Coast is the single largest national producer, with 809,000 metric tons in 1994 (32% worldwide production). 

In 1990, 74% of all cocoa produced was exported.21 This figure does not include semi-processed cocoa products, including cocoa paste, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and chocolate. However, it demonstrates that cocoa is not a crop of domestic consumption within the major producing nations. Similarly to coffee, cocoa contributes to the economy of several large producing nations. 

Cocoa beans and related cocoa product imports (liquor, paste, powder) to the U.S. all declined in 1995 however, cocoa butter and chocolate rose in total imports. U.S. exports of cocoa have a large market in neighboring countries of Canada and Mexico together they account for 51% of all cocoa products exported by the U.S., or 316.8 million in value.23... 

Maleyki A, Jalil M and Ismail A. 2008. Polyphenols in cocoa and cocoa products is there a link between antioxidant properties and health Molecules 13 2190-2219. 

Annex II lists foodstuffs for which only certain of the annex I additives may be used. Such foodstuffs include cocoa products and chocolate products, fruit juices and nectars, jam, jellies and marmalades and partially dehydrated and dehydrated milk, which are the subjects of EU vertical standards, and a number of other foods including frozen unprocessed fmit and vegetables, quick-cook rice, non-emulsified oils and fats, canned and bottled fruit and vegetables, bread made with basic ingredients only, fresh pasta and beer. 

Mathur, S., Devaraj, S., Grundy, S.M., and Jialal, L, Cocoa products decrease low density lipoprotein oxidative susceptibility but do not affect biomarkers of inflammation in humans, J. Nutr., 132, 3663, 2002. 

Though the protocol was written for a dry solid, it should also be mentioned that liquid samples can also be run (Firestone, 1998). Liquid samples can be added directly to the vessel itself or can be treated as a solid with an extraction step in the Karl Fischer solvent as presented in the protocol. The preference for moisture analyses is the gravimetric method (unit aj.i) largely due the higher costs of equipment and the use of chemicals in the Karl Fischer method. Currently one observes very few applications of the Karl Fischer method on food products published by the AOAC for nutritional labeling purposes. In particular, these food products are cocoa, cocoa products, confectionery coatings, and molasses (Sullivan and Carpenter, 1993). 

Coffee, tea, cocoa products Alkaline treatment with MgO. Extraction in acetate buffer solution and oxalic acid, EtOH, propan-2-ol, and ACN. 

The mycotoxin ochratoxin A (AAA) (7), which is a possible human carcinogen, continues to receive extensive attention due to its presence in a myriad of foods and beverages (1520, 1521) and its well-established toxicity (teratogenicity, mutagenicity, immunotoxicity, genotoxicity, and carcinogenicity) (1522-1524). Major sources of ochratoxin A are grapes, must, and wine (1525-1533), cereals (1534), beer (1535,1536), dried fruit (1537), roasted coffee (1538), and cocoa products and chocolate (1539). 

Bonvehi JS (2004) Occurrence of Ochratoxin A in Cocoa Products and Chocolate. J Agric Food Chem 52 6347... 

Initial attempts by Baker et al. [ 160] to determine the nonsystemic triphenyl tin-based fungicide fentin by HPLC were unsuccessful due to a lack of sensitivity and interference by coextractives. They therefore decided to investigate the applicability of spectrofluorimetry to this determination. Different extraction procedures are described for vegetables and cocoa products. For potatoes, for example, the grated potato is dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate and then Soxhlet-extracted with dichloromethane. 

The highest concentrations of nickel in individual foods occur in tea, soya protein and herbs.40 Other foods with elevated levels are pulses, cocoa products and some nuts. Nickel has been found in crops at levels of <0.01 to 1.5 mg/kg, with the highest concentrations in broad beans and Bmssels sprouts. Studies of nickel in marine fish and shellfish have shown that concentrations are low in fish in general, but that levels in shellfish average 0.61 mg/kg, with higher mean... 

Musaceae) [fruit], Theobroma cacao (cocoa) (Sterculiaceae) [seed] Salsolinol linked to chocolate addiction ROS-based neurotoxicity in Parkinson s alcoholism West African cocoa production chocolate slavery - child slave 2002 price US 30... 

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