All posts tagged: cocoa

Ugandans Rue Link to Bundibugyo, the Ebola Virus Type Named After a District of Cocoa Farmers

Ugandans Rue Link to Bundibugyo, the Ebola Virus Type Named After a District of Cocoa Farmers

Published by Sam Flores

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Boon-dee-BOO-joh. Before it became the somewhat easy-to-mispronounce name of a rare type of Ebola virus, Bundibugyo is a mountainous district in western Uganda that even some locals would struggle to pinpoint on a map. It’s home to roughly 200,000 people. Many are cocoa farmers who search for whatever cultivable land they can find in the impossibly steep landscape of hills and valleys marking Uganda’s border with Congo. As an example of the classic village idyll, Bundibugyo is a beautiful place. Yet it now trends for an unpleasant reason, making some Ugandans rue Bundibugyo’s association with the current Ebola outbreak, which has infected hundreds of people in eastern Congo. There are 160 suspected Ebola deaths in two provinces. Virus type discovered in 2007 The Ugandan district’s connection to the Bundibugyo virus stems from an Ebola outbreak there nearly two decades ago that was flagged as a new species of Ebola, a viral disease that usually manifests as hemorrhagic fever. The outbreak wasn’t the Sudan virus, named for the area in present-day South …

Ghirardelli recalls hot cocoa and a dozen other drink mixes over salmonella fears

Ghirardelli recalls hot cocoa and a dozen other drink mixes over salmonella fears

Published by Daniella Wilson

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Ghirardelli has recalled more than a dozen of its powdered beverage mixes over concerns that the products could be contaminated with salmonella. Consumers should look in their pantries to see whether they have any hot cocoa or frappe mixes part of the recall, following the San Francisco chocolate company’s announcement Monday. Salmonella bacteria are a leading cause of foodborne illness in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bacteria can cause serious and in some cases, fatal, infections. Healthy people infected with salmonella usually experience fever, diarrhea and vomiting, according to a company recall notice posted by the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday. Young children, elderly people and those with weakened immune systems can die from salmonella infection. …

Chocolate Company Announces Plans to Produce Lab-Grown Cocoa

Chocolate Company Announces Plans to Produce Lab-Grown Cocoa

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Compared to just about every other trade in the books, the chocolate industry has changed remarkably little since the 1800s. The entire supply chain still relies on the exploitation of West African labor, colonial trade routes, and a few powerful monopolies acting as middle-men. Consumers are starting to notice. Outrage over additives — from titanium dioxide still used in some white chocolates to the heavy metals like cadmium and lead in dark chocolate — has resulted in a torrent of complaints about the waxy, artificial flavor of modern candy bars. In other words, there’s a business opportunity for anyone that can figure out how to provide a more authentic chocolate taste at Hershey prices. The problem is that cocoa can only be grown in a narrow band of the world near the equator — and now a pair of food companies think they can culture it in a lab instead. One promising collaboration is between Belgian food ingredients …

A single dose of cocoa flavanols improves cognitive performance during aerobic exercise

A single dose of cocoa flavanols improves cognitive performance during aerobic exercise

Published by José Betancourt

Consuming a single dose of cocoa rich in specific plant compounds can improve a person’s reaction time and decision-making skills during physically and mentally exhausting exercise. These cognitive benefits occur even though the individual still feels just as mentally drained, suggesting a subconscious boost to brain performance. The findings were published in the journal Psychopharmacology. Hayato Tsukamoto, a researcher at the Faculty of Sport Sciences at Waseda University in Japan, led the investigation. His team wanted to understand how mental exhaustion affects physical performance and whether nutritional supplements could offer a protective effect. They focused their attention on a mental process known as executive function. Executive function is a cognitive system that helps people manage their thoughts, direct their attention, and control their impulses. During sports like soccer or basketball, athletes constantly rely on this system to make rapid choices and block out distractions. Maintaining this mental sharpness is essential for high-level athletic performance. When people use their executive function for an extended period, they experience a state of cognitive fatigue. This mental drain slows …

Tony’s Chocolonely: Chocolate bar favourite says it will not shrink size to weather cocoa crisis

Tony’s Chocolonely: Chocolate bar favourite says it will not shrink size to weather cocoa crisis

Published by Daniella Wilson

Sign up to IndyEat’s free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releases Get our food and drink newsletter for free Get our food and drink newsletter for free A chocolate brand has vowed not to reduce the size or distinctive ‘chunkiness’ of its chocolate bars, even after raising prices due to escalating cocoa costs. Dutch chocolatier, Tony’s Chocolonely, has consistently spoken out about the challenges facing West African cocoa farming amidst rising expenses for chocolate producers. The brand is known for its chunky chocolate bars in innovative flavours, such as milk chocolate rice crisp caramel and the “everything” bar, currently retailing at £4 for a 180 gram bar. Douglas Lamont, Tony’s Chocolonely’s chief executive, said “everyone has paid the price” for the problems, which were worsened by poor harvests as a result of extreme weather conditions. “It was such a big economic shock in terms of the change; when your core commodity, the thing that makes up 50% of your cost, goes up five times, you have to respond and that has to …

Chocolate bar favourite says it will not shrink size to weather cocoa crisis

Chocolate bar favourite says it will not shrink size to weather cocoa crisis

Published by Daniella Wilson

Sign up to IndyEat’s free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releases Get our food and drink newsletter for free Get our food and drink newsletter for free A chocolate brand has vowed not to reduce the size or distinctive ‘chunkiness’ of its chocolate bars, even after raising prices due to escalating cocoa costs. Dutch chocolatier, Tony’s Chocolonely, has consistently spoken out about the challenges facing West African cocoa farming amidst rising expenses for chocolate producers. The brand is known for its chunky chocolate bars in innovative flavours, such as milk chocolate rice crisp caramel and the “everything” bar, currently retailing at £4 for a 180 gram bar. Douglas Lamont, Tony’s Chocolonely’s chief executive, said “everyone has paid the price” for the problems, which were worsened by poor harvests as a result of extreme weather conditions. “It was such a big economic shock in terms of the change; when your core commodity, the thing that makes up 50% of your cost, goes up five times, you have to respond and that has to …