Mondelēz’s sustainability program, Cocoa Life, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ghana Cocoa Board to help reduce emissions in its cocoa supply chain, ‘one of the biggest threats to sustainable cocoa production.’
NGO Mighty Earth is calling on chocolate makers to expand deforestation-free commitments after finding widespread forest destruction driven by cocoa in Indonesia, Peru, Ecuador and Cameroon.
Swedish firm AarhusKarlshamm AB (AAK) has reported ‘record-high’ operating profit of SEK 471m ($58m) for Q4 2017, an 8% increase compared to the same period last year.
The chocolate industry must look beyond cocoa alone to avert another big drop in cocoa prices, says the organizer of chocolate festival and cocoa conference Chocoa.
Nine major cocoa and chocolate companies have committed $8.5m to an initiative aiming to prove a business case to improve the quality of education in Ivorian cocoa communities.
Fairtrade auditing body FLOCERT has decertified Peruvian cocoa cooperative COPASA, which was accused of being a ghost organization of major trader Ecom.
Barry Callebaut has reported sales volume growth above the global chocolate market in the first three months of fiscal 2017/18, but lower cocoa prices saw its revenues slightly decline.
Barry Callebaut may build another chocolate factory in China as its current 30,000-suqare-meter site in the Suzhou Industrial Park is ‘already operating at near full capacity,’ says the company’s Asia Pacific president, Ben De Schryver.
Mars Wrigley Confectionery has defended accusations it is fueling an unjust association between chocolate and health by funding cocoa flavanol research and says chocolate ‘should not be considered a health food’.
Sunny Verghese, co-founder/CEO of Olam International, a leading supplier of cocoa beans, has become chair of The World Business Commission for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) this week, replacing Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) wants feedback on the method it plans to use to calculate the maximum amount of sugar that can be included in a healthy diet.
A scientist at the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) said chocolate would not go extinct as reported by multiple media outlets recently, even though global warming could shrink the cultivatable areas for cocoa trees.
Sourcing to fair trade standards, such as UTZ, Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade, is an important first step for chocolate makers towards cocoa sustainability, but will not necessarily bring farmers out of extreme poverty, say supply chain actors.
Snortable chocolate producer Legal Lean Company has shut down its website after the FDA issued a warning letter, claiming its product Coco Loko encourages ‘drug abuse in individuals, including minors.’
Barry Callebaut has made available a range of low-sugar chocolate designed to promote an improved nutritional profile to confectionery that doesn’t compromise on taste.
Hershey says it is not in the business of processing cocoa, contrary to a Reuters report claiming it was considering a semi-processed cocoa facility in Côte d’Ivoire.
Sugar may help cocoa flavanols to be better absorbed in the digestive system, however this will provoke a spike in insulin, undoing its beneficial effect, speculates a researcher at Coventry University.
Major cocoa trader Ecom says a Peruvian cocoa cooperative it financially supports is not a ghost organization of Ecom after the co-op was suspended by Fairtrade.
Cocoa producer organizations fear there is a growing number of so-called ‘fake cooperatives’, which are beholden to chocolate companies and cocoa traders that provide financial assistance.
Cocoa & Forests Initiative members have disclosed plans for ending cocoa-driven deforestation, in pledges made at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP23).
Chocolate companies should rethink cocoa sustainability programs to reverse low adoption rates for training and technology, says The Scientific Committee of the International Symposium on Cocoa Research.
Barry Callebaut announced its full-fiscal year 2016/17 sales revenue increased by 1.2%, reaching CHF 6.8bn ($6.8bn), while its net profit grew by 39.6% during the period.
Chocolate samples using cocoa from Dominica, Hawaii, Martinique and Sierra Leone were among the 18 winners of the International Cocoa Awards 2017 and could offer strong prospects for premium chocolate companies, say the event organizers.
Chocolate and cocoa companies should report more on the impact than the reach of their cocoa sustainability programs, according to a consultation paper by a group of NGOs.
‘Clear business case’ to invest in women in cocoa: WINCC
Female cocoa farmers are key to accelerating cocoa sustainability, but lack the access to finance and land rights that men have, says a new network for women in the cocoa supply chain, which includes Hershey's CEO.
Cocoa trader Touton has partnered with Ghanaian government agency Cocobod to curb deforestation in Ghana, where cocoa is the main driver of 3.2% of protected forest loss each year.
Significant progress is being made to combat unlawful child labor, but Indonesia’s declining crop and the falling cocoa price remain major challenges, says Mars' head of procurement.
Social enterprise Divine Chocolate is pushing NPD innovation to capitalize on the growing higher cocoa trend evident in the popularity of its 85% chocolate bar.
Vietnam’s obligation to cut sugar tariffs will open up opportunities for its neighbours while placing considerable pressure on its struggling domestic sugar industry.
Nestlé’s child labor prevention system in its Cocoa Plan will cover around half of the company’s supply by 2020, but full scale up may never be possible, says its public affairs director.
The mechanism of action that show cancer cells’ use of sugars to ‘awaken’ cancer cells and promote aggressive cancer growth provides further insights into creating tailor-made diets for cancer patients.
Leaders in the US candy and sugar industry say pending GMO labeling laws should coincide with the FDA's extended nutrition facts panel compliance date.
Traceability from farm to first purchase, common definitions of protected areas and paying farmers a living income are three ways stakeholders say can help end cocoa-driven deforestation in West Africa, which is threatening endangered species.
Nigeria is the world’s sixth largest cocoa producer, but has scope to significantly boost its output and processing capacity, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Researchers say commercial prospects for extra virgin olive oil enriched dark chocolate are strong after finding potential cardiovascular health benefits.
Tony’s Chocolonely this month achieved national distribution across the US in natural and specialty channels and is now aiming to enter conventional retail.
