Nestlé USA announced at the National Confectioners Association (NCA) show that the company is expanding its Nestlé Cocoa Plan responsible sourcing program to its American product offerings.
Cocoa processing is increasingly moving to origin countries, particularly those in regions where chocolate consumption is rising such as Brazil and Indonesia, according to ADM Cocoa’s head of innovation.
Fair Trade USA claims that draft changes to its labeling policy allowing brands with 20% certified ingredients to carry its logo are justified in composite products like chocolate because components like sugar are mainly sourced domestically in the US...
Barry Callebaut’s innovation department has revealed that the level of cocoa flavanols, which are associated with a string of positive health effects, vary depending on where beans are sourced.
Not-for-profit organization Fair World Project has criticized changes to Fair Trade USA's labeling policy, which allows chocolate to carry the seal when it contains a high percentage of other ingredients like sugar that are not fairly traded.
Barry Callebaut has reported a slight dip in half-year profits as lower cocoa prices meant customers were paying less for the company’s range of cocoa ingredients compared to last year.
A 10,000 ton shipment of fertilizer arrived in the principal cocoa growing nation Ivory Coast today as part of an industry-backed initiative to double productivity on cocoa farms.
Mars Chocolate promises to assess conditions for women cocoa farmers and will sign up to the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles after Oxfam accused it of neglecting gender inequality.
The EU’s sugar quota fell three million metric tons short of demand in 2012 leading to an 11% price hike, but the deficit is not expected to increase due to stagnant demand for sugar-based foods and health concerns, according to market analysts Euromonitor...
ConfectioneryNews.com examines the sustainable cocoa commitments of one of the leading premium chocolate makers, Lindt, after it announced a big charitable investment last week.
Hershey has called attacks on its text messaging tips for farmers program CocoaLink “disingenuous” after a group of NGOs questioned the effectiveness of the project.
The industry has pledged $10m in new funds since 2010 to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, but a newly released report says the job is far from over.
SunOpta plans to increase its cocoa processing capacity with a new facility in Middenmeer, Netherlands as it looks to grow its organic and specialty cocoa business to serve the specialty chocolate industry.
Oxfam has called on the three biggest chocolate manufacturers to conduct independent audits on conditions for women on cocoa farms supplying their factories after finding evidence of unequal pay, discrimination and hunger.
Cargill plans to increase its cocoa processing capacity by 25% at its plant in Ilhéus, Brazil, to keep up with rising consumer demand for chocolate and cocoa products in the market.
On the day 27 associations issued a joint open letter imploring the EU to keep to its word and scrap widely despised sugar quotas across the bloc in 2015 - not 2020 as the sugar industry wants - Tate & Lyle Sugars jumped into the debate by saying...
Temperature and its duration have the biggest impact on the browning of cocoa beans during roasting, but air velocity also indirectly influences the process, a study finds.
EU sugar quotas have created instability, a sugar producer “oligopoly” and have dealt a “harsh blow” to small-to-medium sized confectioners, according to an independent think tank.
The European Sugar Users Association (CIUS) has criticised the European Commission’s out-of-quota sugar measures which it claims have left sugar users unable to plan ahead.
The Philippines can evolve as a top-quality cocoa source and serve the needs of growing demand for chocolate in Asia, according to a start-up company trading beans in the market.
Should the EU extend sugar quotas until 2020 any temporary measures to improve supply for food manufacturers will have little impact on prices and availability, according to Nestlé.
The European Parliament Agriculture Committee's vote to extend EU sugar quotas until 2020 will have a negative impact on the confectionery industry and puts small and medium sized manufacturers at risk, according to European Sugar Users association...
Germany confectionery exports were at the lowest level since 2005 last year as the market was hit hard by EU sugar shortages, according to the German confectionery Association (BDSI).
The chocolate industry is behind in tackling some cocoa supply issues and must work more closely to avert shortages, according to Mars’ head of sustainability.
Euromonitor International is predicting that demand for cocoa products will not outstrip supply by 2017, contrary to the International Cocoa Organization’s (ICCO) forecasted cocoa deficit.
An analyst from Rabobank expects the European cocoa grind to pick up this year after data released today showed 2012 figures were the lowest in seven years.
Sugar prices in the US have fallen more than 40% since last summer and are now at “dangerously low levels for producers who are facing ever-increasing input costs”, according to Jack Roney, an economist with the American Sugar Alliance (ASA).
