Organic chocolate is chocolate which has been certified organic. As of 2016, it was a growing sector in the global chocolate industry. Organic chocolate is a socially desirable product for some consumers. [1] [2] Organic chocolate has benefits including vitamin B12, vitamin E, niacin, riboflavin, phosphorus, manganese, zinc, calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron. [3] Major brands, such as The Hershey Company, have begun to produce organic chocolate. [4]
Many, if not most, producers of organic chocolate source their ingredients from certified fair trade cocoa farms and cooperatives. [5] Organic chocolate comes in many varieties, including milk chocolate, white chocolate, and dark chocolate. Major brands of organic chocolate include Britain-based Green & Black's, Hershey-owned Dagoba Chocolate, and Equal Exchange. [6] Less-known retailers include Taza Chocolate, Pacari Chocolate, and Sacred Chocolate, a brand noted for producing raw chocolate. [7]
The Seattle-based chocolate maker Theo Chocolate was one of the first companies that were "fair-trade certified" and produced organic chocolate. In 2006 Theo Chocolate began their production of organic chocolate, there were no solid guidelines for chocolate manufacturing at the time and they had to get the process and ingredients in the correct measurements. The main ingredient in chocolate, cocoa is found close to the equator and the majority of it is grown in Western Africa or South America. Mesoamerica is where cacao originated. [8] The organic cocoa, the main ingredient in organic chocolate, is sent to the chocolate factory, where it arrives in burlap sacks. The cocoa beans are then thoroughly cleaned and foreign objects are removed until just the beans remain. Organic cocoa beans are grown less than non-organic cocoa beans. [9] The manufacturer makes sure to use all organic ingredients to ensure that the final product is truly organic. [10]
Chocolate or cocoa is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cocoa has been consumed in some form for at least 5,300 years starting with the Mayo-Chinchipe culture in what is present-day Ecuador. Later Mesoamerican civilizations also consumed chocolate beverages, and it was introduced to Europe in the 16th century.
The cocoa bean, also known simply as cocoa or cacao, is the dried and fully fermented seed of Theobroma cacao, the cacao tree, from which cocoa solids and cocoa butter can be extracted. Cacao trees are native to the Amazon rainforest. They are the basis of chocolate and Mesoamerican foods including tejate, an indigenous Mexican drink.
The Hershey Company, often called just Hershey or Hershey's, is an American multinational confectionery company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States, which is also home to Hersheypark and Hershey's Chocolate World. The Hershey Company is one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world; it also manufactures baked products, such as cookies and cakes, and sells beverages like milkshakes, as well as other products. The Hershey Company was founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894 as the Hershey Chocolate Company, originally established as a subsidiary of his Lancaster Caramel Company. The Hershey Trust Company owns a minority stake but retains a majority of the voting power within the company.
Milk chocolate is a form of solid chocolate containing cocoa, sugar and milk. It is the most consumed type of chocolate, and is used in a wide diversity of bars, tablets and other confectionery products. Milk chocolate contains smaller amounts of cocoa solids than dark chocolates do, and contains milk solids. While its taste has been key to its popularity, milk chocolate was historically promoted as a healthy food, particularly for children.
Scharffen Berger is an American chocolate manufacturing company, which was a subsidiary of The Hershey Company after it had been acquired in 2005. Scharffen Berger was established as an independent Berkeley, California-based chocolate maker in 1996 by sparkling wine maker John Scharffenberger and physician Robert Steinberg.
Reese's Take 5 is a candy bar that was released by The Hershey Company in December 2004. The original name of the candy bar was TAKE5 but common usage among consumers added a space. In June 2019, when the candy bar became part of the Reese's family, the name was officially changed to Reese's Take 5.
Raw chocolate, or raw ground chocolate paste when ground, is chocolate produced from cocoa beans that does not contain any additives like sugar.
Green & Black's is a British chocolate company founded in 1991. The company produces a range of organic food products, including: chocolate bars, ice cream, biscuits and hot chocolate.
Wilbur Chocolate is one of four brands manufactured by Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate North America. Most of the Wilbur brand products were produced in plants chocolate manufacturing company located in Lititz, Pennsylvania.
Chocolate is a food product made from roasted and ground cocoa pods mixed with fat and powdered sugar to produce a solid confectionery. There are several types of chocolate, classified primarily according to the proportion of cocoa and fat content used in a particular formulation.
The history of chocolate dates back over 5,000 years, when the cacao tree was first domesticated in present-day southeast Ecuador. Soon introduced to Mesoamerica, it gained cultural significance as an elite drink among different cultures, including the Mayans and Aztecs. Cacao was extremely important; considered a gift from the gods, it was used as a currency as well as medicinally and ceremonially. Chocolate was often associated with the heart, and was believed to be psychedelic. It is unclear when chocolate was first drunk, and there is evidence of Mesoamerican groups drinking an alcoholic drink made by fermenting the pulp around cacao seeds.
Alter Eco refers to two alternative trading organizations, founded in 1998 by Tristan Lecomte in France, and followed by Mathieu Senard and Edouard Rollet in the United States, and Ilse Keijzer in Australia.
Dagoba Organic Chocolate was a brand of chocolate founded in 2001 by Frederick Schilling. The Hershey Company acquired Dagoba in 2006 but in June 2021 Dagoba again became a privately held company. Hershey divested the Dagoba chocolate brand along with Krave Pure Foods and Scharffen Berger in order to focus on the salty snacks and nutrition bars markets. After the divesture, Scharffen Berger moved production and its headquarters to the Dagoba factory in Ashland, Oregon and registered in 2021 as an LLC with the Oregon Secretary of State. However, Dagoba did not re-register in Oregon as a business entity and the Dagoba home page redirects to the Hershey site.
Barry Callebaut AG is a Swiss-Belgian cocoa processor and chocolate manufacturer, with an average annual production of 2.3 million tonnes of cocoa & chocolate . It was created in 1996 through the merging of the French company Cacao Barry and the Belgian chocolate producer Callebaut. It is currently based in Zürich, Switzerland, and operates in over 30 countries worldwide. It was created in its present form by Klaus Johann Jacobs.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to chocolate:
The environmental impact of cocoa production includes deforestation, soil contamination, and herbicide resistance. The majority of cocoa farms are now located in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana.
Fair trade cocoa is an agricultural product harvested from a cocoa tree using a certified process which is followed by cocoa farmers, buyers, and chocolate manufacturers, and is designed to create sustainable incomes for farmers and their families. Companies that use fair trade certified cocoa to create products can advertise that they are contributing to social, economic, and environmental sustainability in agriculture.
Theo Chocolate is an American chocolate maker headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Established in 2006, it is the first organic fair trade-certified cocoa producer in the United States.
The chocolate industry in the Philippines developed after the introduction of the cocoa tree to Philippine agriculture. The growing of cacao or cocoa boasts a long history stretching from the colonial times. Originating from Mesoamerican forests, cacao was first introduced by the Spanish colonizers four centuries ago. Since then the Philippine cocoa industry has been the primary producer of cocoa beans in Southeast Asia. There are many areas of production of cacao in the Philippines, owing to soil and climate. The chocolate industry is currently on a small to medium scale.
Regenerative cacao is defined as cacao that is produced on a farm that employs regenerative agriculture and agroforestry methods. It is most closely associated with the Ecuadorian chocolate company To’ak, the organic food supplier Navitas, the rainforest conservation organization TMA, and the social-agricultural enterprise Terra Genesis. Cacao is the raw material that is used to produce chocolate.
 | This confectionery-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This dessert-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
