Over the last 20 years chocolate products have been at the origin of several salmonellosis outbreaks involving mainly children. One of the main characteristics are the very low levels of Salmonella normally found in such contaminated products. Due to the low water activity, the pathogens are not able to grow but these conditions provide a good protection leading to increased heat resistance and...

Chocolate has become a part of everyday life throughout the world. Many enjoy different chocolate selections such as cake, ice cream, chocolate bars, etc. as desserts. Furthermore, chocolate has solidified itself as a common gift during many holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween and Christmas, making it a highly lucrative industry, valued at over $80 billion a year. Europeans, spe...

Reducing the fat content of chocolate formulations is a major challenge for the confectionery industry. We report the suspension of aqueous microgel agar particles of up to 80% v/v within sunflower oil, cocoa butter, and ultimately chocolate. The optimised emulsification process involves a shear-cooling step. We demonstrate the versatility of our method when applied to white, milk, and dark cho...

Chocolate storage is critical to final product quality. Inadequate storage, especially with temperature fluctuations, may lead to rearrangement of triglycerides that make up the bulk of the chocolate matrix; this rearrangement may lead to fat bloom. Bloom is the main cause of quality loss in the chocolate industry. The effect of storage conditions leading to bloom formation on texture and flavo...

When the Council of Ministers had to decide on the so-called chocolate directive in 1999, its plan to allow vegetable fat in the production of candy products met with fierce opposition from Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. These three member states objected to the usage of vegetable fats other than cocoa in chocolate. Although they advanced some consumer-friendly arguments, continental man...

This article gives an account of the origins, evolution and properties of chocolate. Chocolate is processed from the pod or cabosside of the cacao plant, grown in the tropical belt. The origins of chocolate are traced back to the Maya people who were probably the first to cultivate the cacao plant. The early chocolate drink, considered a "drink of the Gods" was mixed with cinnamon and pepper, t...

In the dairy industry, natural plant-based powders are widely used to develop flavor and functionality. However, most of these ingredients are water-insoluble; therefore, emulsification is essential. In this study, the efficacy of high pressure homogenization (HPH) on natural plant (chocolate or vanilla)-based model emulsions was investigated. The particle size, electrical conductivity, Brix, p...

Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR, E-476) is a powerful water-in-oil emulsifier 1–5 used to manufacture stable pan release agents for the bakery industry and to stabilize low fat margarine systems with high water content. However, its main application is in the chocolate and confectionery industry,6,7 since it improves the flow properties of chocolate and vegetable fat coatings by lowering the...