Fair Trade USA and UTZ Certified are piloting a collaborative cocoa certification scheme that they say will reduce costs for farmers looking to get dual certification.
Manufacturers can increase the price of chocolate without fear of putting off consumers thus ensuring cocoa farmers are fairly paid, according to executive director of the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO).
A dozen of the world's biggest confectioners have signed up to the World Cocoa Foundation’s CocoaAction - something the organisation says will join the dots of existing sustainability programmes.
Food manufacturers don’t understand the urgency of sustainability and need to act faster, but also communicate actions better with consumers, says the president of global NGO Food Tank.
Chocolate, chews, hard candy, snacks—The Hershey Company is going all out with a large array of product introductions at the 2014 Sweets and Snacks Expo.
Certifiers UTZ says a redraft of its code of conduct focuses on ‘prevention’ and monitoring of child labor on farms as well as including new measures around climate change.
Swiss business developer and Indonesian government signs Cargill Cocoa Promise, just as the firm announces initial cocoa processing tests at its first Asian plant in East Java.
Functional confectionery has made only small gains since approval of Barry Callebaut’s cocoa flavanol health claim but opportunities exist for premiumized chocolate products, says a Euromonitor analyst.
By Han De Groot, executive director at UTZ Certified,
Chocolate could become a small and expensive niche product unless we all do more to help cocoa farmers escape poverty, writes UTZ Certified executive director Han De Groot.
The rising North American cocoa grind is a positive sign for the chocolate industry, but many consumers are not prepared to pay higher prices planned by some leading confectioners, according to an analyst.
Near record-high cocoa butter prices have driven up the cost of chocolate production by as much as 20%; a price hike that will likely be seen on shelf, according to commodity analysts Mintec.
Shea and palm oil derivatives may lead the way as the most common sources of cocoa butter alternatives for use in chocolate, but researchers are discovering novel forms ranging from mango seed to camel hump fat.
Special Edition: The possibilities of chocolate with reduced cocoa butter
Chocolate purists may turn to alternative vegetable fats amid escalating cocoa butter prices, but taste and regulatory stumbling blocks remain, according to an analyst.
About 50% of our preference for sweet food and drinks can be attributed to genetics, about the same level of heritability as certain personality traits and asthma, according to a food sensory scientist.
ConfectioneryNews will be chairing a debate on the latest developments in cocoa flavanol science and the potential for better-for-you chocolate at nutraceutical trade show Vitafoods next month.
More research is required before the World Health Organization (WHO) cuts its guidance on daily sugar intake by half, according to the Association of Chocolate, Biscuits and Confectionery Industries of Europe (CAOBISCO).
European Sugar Users (CIUS) has called on the European Commission to implement temporary market measures should sugar end stocks fall below a certain threshold amid uncertainly in the EU sugar supply.
Researchers believe a class of compounds found in cocoa known as oligomers may prevent weight gain and reduce diabetes risk, but the lead author says it is too soon to draw a link with dark chocolate.
The US National Confectioners Association (NCA) has hit out at claims from the American Sugar Alliance that the confectionery industry is dominated by big players and is crying poor about sugar prices.
Barry Callebaut has returned to net profit growth in its half year results as it further integrates the cocoa ingredients business acquired from Petra Foods.
Copersucar and Cargill have announced an agreement to combine their global sugar trading activities into a new joint venture that will produce, commercialise and trade raw and white sugar.
Chocolate makers may struggle to guarantee their entire cocoa supply comes from a sustainable source by 2020 targets, according to auditing service Intertek.
The US National Confectioners Association (NCA) has earmarked consumer education on calories and sugar as an industry priority for 2014 but admits there is skepticism about industry-funded research.
A US court has refused to dismiss a civil case against Hershey alleging complicity in illegal child labor and human trafficking on cocoa farms in West Africa.
Chocolate giant Mars and the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute are readying themselves for a five-year research project into possible heart-health benefits of taking a daily flavanol-rich capsule.
US headquartered firm Spangler Candy says it will not move large volumes of its production back to the US from Mexico until the US government creates a domestic sugar regime that matches world prices.
Mondelēz International said it may include a pledge to reduce sugar in its new health & wellness program, but only if the World Health Organization (WHO) makes its latest sugar advice formal.
NGO STOP THE TRAFFIK has accused Mondelēz International of lagging behind its rivals by attempting to self-regulate child trafficking in the cocoa sector.
Mondelēz is to cut saturated fat and sodium by 10% by 2020, but suggests reducing consumer sugar intake is manageable with portion controlled products and education.
As the United Nations held its 6th Annual Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) in New York, last week, Nestlé shared its efforts to encourage women worldwide to work in the marketplace and community.
Dispatches from the NCA State of the Industry Conference in Miami
Ecom and Armajaro maintain they did not fail to pay farmers for certified cocoa beans as Ecom’s trading license is suspended and a media hotchpotch of leaked documents and official positions ensues.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised halving sugar intake advice from 10% of total calories to 5% of total calories in a new dietary guideline proposal.
The Committee of European Sugar Users (CIUS) has called on EU member states and the Commission to take adequate measures to avoid sugar shortages and guarantee a sufficient stock level at the end of this business year.
Dispatches from State of the Industry Conference in Miami
Chocolate makers are well prepared for current cocoa deficit forecasts and will only be forced to raise prices if other inputs such transportation become costlier along with cocoa, according to the National Confectioners Association (NCA).
Restricting marketing to children and continuing to cut salt, fats and added sugar in processed foods are among initiatives put forward in a plan to tackle childhood obesity, agreed by EU member states in Greece last week.
Petra Foods reported group net profits down 20.6% from the previous year following the divestment of its cocoa ingredients business to Barry Callebaut, but say own brand sales are up 12.6%.
Dark chocolate may help restore flexibility to arteries and prevent white blood cells from sticking to the walls of blood vessels, but increasing flavanol content will not affect these effects and may even put consumers off, say researchers.
