Organic Fair Trade Chocolate

At Ecole Chocolat, we have seen an increase in the number of students interested in working with chocolate and making chocolate products that meet special needs, such as organic, fair trade, sustainable and functional (i.e., low or no sugar, ingredient-enhanced, raw, no GMO, gluten-free, vegan, etc.). This mirrors the global demand for specialized chocolate products that has grown steadily over the past 10 years.

For our program purposes, using a specialized chocolate is not a problem. There are now more choices, as both artisan and multinational chocolate companies offer products to satisfy different needs. While the techniques of working with chocolate are the same, recipes in our programs can be adapted to meet any dietary goal. I am always amazed at the creativity and ingenuity of our students.

The following updates will hopefully help you to understand the state of the industry when it comes to these specialized chocolates.

While organic and fair trade are different issues, they are linked as Fairtrade Foundation and Fair Trade USA which report: "In Europe, fair trade cocoa has seen 30% in growth year after year and 48% of all fair trade cocoa imported into Europe is also certified organic. In North America, fair trade cocoa has seen 83% in growth year after year. Ninety per cent of all fair trade cocoa imported into North America is also certified organic."

Update on organic chocolate

The organic cocoa market represents a very small share of the total cocoa market, estimated at less than 0.5% of total production. ICCO estimates production of certified organic cocoa is mainly sourced from the following countries: Madagascar, Tanzania, Uganda, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Venezuela, Fiji, India, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu. Approximately 80% of certified organic cocoa comes from Latin America.

The research study Organic Monitor, commissioned by Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO), estimates the organic cacao market was 25,000 tonnes in 2009 and expected to grow 2 - 5% by 2013. Major importers of organic cocoa in North America are United Cocoa Processor, Atlantic Cocoa, Dagoba Chocolate (division of Hershey's) and Blommer. In Europe, the major importers are Pronatec, Barry Callebaut, Mapryser and Tradin Organic.

We have seen the choices in organic chocolate increase greatly over just the past five years, as both artisan and multinational chocolate manufacturers continue to grow their range of organic chocolate products. This offers both chocolatiers and artisan bar manufacturers more options.

Cacao is a "family farm" crop with almost 90% of its cultivation, fermentation and drying in the hands of the individual farmer. The reality is that most farmers cannot afford the expensive process of being "certified" organic.

Many of the small farms grow cacao without the help of pesticides, which they can’t afford, so they are by default organic. Talk with the chocolate manufacturer of your choice and ask them about their chocolate. You may find that while the cocoa isn't certified organic it might just be organic by default. We use the term De Facto* Organic.

*de facto = In practice or reality, without being offically established.

Price remains a problem. Depending on quality, organic cocoa beans demand a premium of 10-50 % above conventional cocoa beans, according to Curtis Vreeland, researcher for Packaged Facts.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO, industry analysts seem to agree that the future growth of the organic cocoa market will depend more on supply constraints than on increased demand. The rate of growth of demand has already outstripped the rate of supply (consistency and quality) coupled with the high costs of certification itself – there is just not enough to go around and that will keep prices for organic chocolate at a premium.

The USDA National Organic Program has a table for more information. Simply type "chocolate" or "cocoa" in the field under the title Operations to get a list of certified operations in the chocolate industry which are sold in the US.

As well, our Ecole Chocolat Facebook Page has periodic news and articles of interest on both organic and fair trade chocolate.

Update on Fair Tradechocolate

"Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing their rights of, disadvantaged producers and workers." (FINE, 2001)

According to the ICCO, a Fair Trade certified producer must comply with a number of requirements related to social, economic and environmental developments. In addition, labor conditions in these organizations must follow certain standards. The essential characteristic of Fair Trade cocoa is that producer organizations receive a higher price for their cocoa beans. The Fair Trade price represents the necessary condition for the producer to have the financial ability to fulfill the above requirements, and to cover the certification fees. Other benefits for certified producer organizations are better "capacity-building" and "market access." Presently, cocoa sold with the Fair Trade label still captures a very low share of the cocoa market (0.1%).

Why is the fair trade share of the cocoa market so low? Certification is expensive for the individual farmer – most can't afford it unless they band together into a cooperative. The down side of joining together is that the profits from premium prices are shared and invested in improvements for all, not necessarily paid directly to each farmer.

Why is certification so expensive? We have to remember that Fair Trade certification, with all its very heartfelt goals, is also a business – a big business. Trade Fair USA, for example, had close to $10 million in revenue in 2009 using almost half of that for personnel expenses. It's a complex business of certifying on location, collecting and managing fees, maintaining operations and paying salaries and expenses for staff.

Just Who Certifies Cacao?

Fair Trade Certified,™ from the Fair Trade USA organization, guarantees consumers that strict economic, social and environmental criteria were met in the production and trade of cocoa. Click here for a list of their Licensed Partners in the cocoa category.

Utz Certified, the Dutch non-profit organization, established the The Good Inside Cocoa Programme in 2008, after the success of its program for ethical coffee trading.

The Fairtrade Labeling Organization (FLO), established in 1997, is the worldwide Fair Trade standard-setting and certification organization. Since 2004 it has been composed of two independent bodies, FLO-I for standard-setting and FLO-Cert Ltd. for Fair Trade certification and auditing activities.

The Max Havelaar Foundation guarantees small farmers in developing countries a fair price for their produce and intermediates in marketing products. Max Havelaar cocoa was launched in October 1993.

The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) provides a market guarantee for integrity of organic claims. The Organic Guarantee System (OGS) unites the organic world through a common system of standards, verification and market identity.

RainForest Alliance outline their position and work on sustainability in their Sustainable Cocoa Program fact sheet.

Some companies, such as ADM, have their own certification programs: Socially and Environmentally Responsible Agricultural Practices (SERAP).

For our Ecole Chocolate Programs we always keep up to date on which manufacturers are now offering certified organic chocolate so students have as wide a choice as possible.

Functional chocolate for health benefits and to address dietary restrictions

There is growth potential for dark chocolate in the functional food sector, with the product carrying most of the heart health claims in the confectionary segment, says Leatherhead Food Research in its June 2011 report Future Directions for Functional Foods. See article below.

According to a May 2010 article in Progressive Grocer on natural and organic consumers, 8 in 10 regularly read ingredient labels for health and nutrition content and express interest in purchasing functional foods with additional health, nutrition and dietary benefits, with 39% “very interested” in these kinds of foods.

Consumers said they’re most interested foods containing organic ingredients (65%) and low-sodium grocery products (47%), followed by low-fat/low-cholesterol (39%) and vegetarian items (31%). Functional food products with added calcium (44%), omega-3 (44%), antioxidants (43%), probiotics/prebiotics (38%), and vitamin D (30%) were also popular choices.

The study also revealed interest in specific ingredient-free foods, with one in three natural-product consumers looking to buy allergen-free foods. Shoppers were most likely to report purchasing gluten-free/wheat-free items (25%), followed by dairy-free products (9%). Fewer eschewed soy (6%) or peanuts (4%).

This interest from consumers spills over into the world of chocolate manufactures and chocolatiers, where, for example, a hike in demand for lactose-free products prompted leading industrial chocolate supplier Barry Callebaut to reformulate a 100% dairy-free alternative to milk chocolate in summer 2010.

We've found that most chocolate manufacturers now offer sugar-free chocolate products. A few have removed lecithin in response to concerns about genetically modified soy.. The increased popularity of high cocoa-content dark chocolate is both a flavor and health consideration by consumers.

On the chocolate and health front, the news has been good – if we stick to low-sugar chocolate products. See our Chocolate News page for all the latest reports on chocolate and health.

By Helen Glaberson, 13-Jun-2011, Nutra Ingredients

There is growth potential for dark chocolate in the functional food sector, with the product carrying most of the heart health claims in the confectionery segment, says Leatherhead Food Research.

In its new report Future Directions for Functional Foods, Leatherhead values the international functional food and drink market (products making specific health claims) at $24.2bn and predicts a 4 to 5 per cent annual growth rate over the next few years

In the confectionery market, dark chocolate is performing well, mainly due to its high antioxidant positioning, with an increasing emphasis on the high antioxidant content of cocoa polyphenols driving up sales in many countries, said the UK-based market analyst.

Dark chocolate now accounts for 38 per cent of the US chocolate market and is bought in up to 40 per cent of UK households, they said.

Despite the fact scientific substantiation for chocolate’s heart claims is still mounting, they have contributed to the growth in global demand for the product, often at the expense of milk chocolate, according to Leatherhead.

Although there has been activity for dark chocolate in this area, overall, the heart health confectionery market is still too small and fragmented to quantify, said the analysts.

Anti-aging claims

As well as heart health, dark chocolate is also promoted on anti-ageing claims and there has been a rising number of skin health and beauty chocolate launches in recent years, particularly in the US, said Leatherhead.

An example is Barry Callebaut’s Acticoa ingredient, which has an anti-ageing platform based on antioxidants in cocoa bean. It is used by in major brands such as Guylian and Thorntons, said the analysts.

But there were high-profile failures, like Mars's CocoaVia range,launched in 2003, which has been discontinued.

Dark chocolate and mood claims are growing in popularity, said Leatherhead, with suggestions that chocolate contains ‘drug-like’ constituents such as anandamines, caffeine, phenylethylamine and magnesium.

There are also claims that it can boost serotonin and stimulate the secretion of endorphins.

Leatherhead said that although work remains to be done to substantiate some of these claims, the consumer perception of chocolate as a good mood food is growing.

The global chocolate market has also carried probiotic-enriched lines. Although probiotics and prebiotics feature particularly strongly in dairy, a 2009 study from University of Ghent in Belgium claims that chocolate may represent a better carrier for probiotics than traditional dairy products.

For confectionery, Barry Callebaut is a pioneer in this area, according to the analysts, launching a functional chocolate bar containing probiotics in 2007.

However, Leatherhead said there have been relatively few confectionery entrants into the market, with major suppliers limited to US companies such as Maramor Chocolates and Attune Foods.

For confectionery, activity has been limited for functional confectionery according to the report, which applies even within the well developed Japanese market.

In this region, most products launched carrying anti/aging beauty claims have been within the confectionery sector.

Elsewhere in the US and western Europe the category remains in its infancy, despite launches from mainstream food manufacturers such as Kellogg, Mars and Barry Callebaut, said Leatherhead.

In western Europe, most functional confectionery products are competing in the specialist dietetic sector rather than mainstream food market, said the analysts.