The consumption of high-cacao-content chocolate has been associated with positive health benefits ascribed to flavanol [corrected] antioxidants derived from the ground, fermented cocoa seeds of Theobroma cacao. However, flavanols [corrected] impart a bitter, astringent flavor to foodstuffs, frequently masked in chocolates and confections by aggressive processing and adulteration with other flav...

Cocoa beans are rich source of polyphenols, contributing about 10% of the dry weight of the whole bean and its derivative chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, is considered one of the major contributors of antioxidants to the American diet after fruits and vegetables. At present the wide variation in cocoa processing and in the content and profile of polyphenols make it difficult to determin...

BACKGROUND & AIMS Previous studies have suggested that cocoa products, which are rich sources of flavonoids, may lower blood pressure, serum cholesterol, fasting blood glucose and improve endothelial function. However, it is unclear whether consumption of cocoa products including chocolate influences the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS). In a cross-sectional design, we sought to examine the as...

The levels of cadmium, lead, copper and arsenic were determined in two batches of raw cocoa and semifinished chocolate products sampled at various intermediate stages of the manufacturing process. The metal contents of eighteen chocolate bars produced by four chocolate making factories were also determined. A nalyses of the metal contents in cocoa containing samples were effected by dry ashing ...

The effect of chocolate on a group of volunteer migrainous subjects, who had observed that headache regularly occurred after the ingestion of small amounts of cocoa products, was investigated. Two separate studies were carried out in a double-blind placebo controlled manner. Only 13 headaches occurred to chocolate alone in 80 subject sessions, and only two subjects responded consistently to cho...

BACKGROUND In recent years, there has been increased interest in the potential health-related benefits of antioxidant- and phytochemical-rich dark chocolate and cocoa. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to examine the short-term (6 wk) effects of dark chocolate and cocoa on variables associated with neuropsychological functioning and cardiovascular health in healthy older adults. DESI...

Can social interactions be used to encourage the consumption of fair-trade products? Social interactions may alter purchase behavior by triggering either self-image concerns (when one sees others' decisions without being seen) or social-image concerns (when everybody sees everyone else). A laboratory experiment is designed to identify separately these concerns, using real auctions for normal an...

The texture of low-fat food products must be adjusted to mimic regular full fat products in order to gain consumer acceptance (Le R ev erend, Norton, Cox, and Spyropoulos., Apr. 2010). For chocolate products fat reduction can be achieved byminimize trapped fat in the cocoa particles (Do, Vieira, Hargreaves, Mitchell, and Wolf., May 2011) or by incorporating water into the product (Skelhon, Olss...

As noted by Ziegler, Hayes, and Lambert (1), most publications in food science are about food compositions and their related health effects. However, our paper (2) focuses on a new electrorheological (ER) technology, which works with all samples from major chocolate manufacturers in reducing chocolate’s viscosity and lowering the fat level. Ziegler et al. (1) agree that current chocolate produc...