Chocolate#Physiological effects

File:Kakaw (Mayan word).png for cacao]]

Cocoa is a variant of cacao, likely arising from a confusion with the word coco. Through cacao, it is ultimately derived from kakaw(a), but whether that word originates in Nahuatl or a Mixe-Zoquean language is the subject of substantial linguistic debate.{{Cite journal |last=Swanton |first=Michael |date=May 9, 2024 |title=Mesoamerican mantic names as an etymological source of Mixtec vocabulary |journal=Ancient Mesoamerica |volume=35 |issue=2 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=619–644 |doi=10.1017/S0956536124000026 |doi-access=free}}{{Sfnp|Dakin|Wichmann|2000|p=56}} Chocolate is a Spanish loanword, first recorded in English in 1604,{{Cite OED|term=chocolate|id=4410701122|access-date=July 16, 2024}} and first recorded in Spanish in 1579.{{Cite journal |last1=Swanton |first1=Michael |last2=de Ávila |first2=Alejandro |last3=van Doesburg |first3=Bas |date=2010 |title=Comments on Kaufman and Justeson: "The History of the Word for Cacao in Ancient Mesoamerica" |journal=Ancient Mesoamerica |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=435 |doi=10.1017/S0956536111000186}} The word for chocolate drink in early Nahuatl texts is cacahuatl meaning "cacao water", which chocolate does not immediately derive from.{{sfnp|Coe|Coe|2013|pp=117}}

Despite theories that chocolate is derived from xocoatl meaning "bitter drink" or chocolatl meaning "hot water"{{Sfnp|Kaufman|Justeson|p=226|2007}}{{Sfnp|Coe|Coe|2013|p=118}} and uncertainty around the Nahuatl origin, there is a consensus that it likely derives from chicolatl.{{Sfnp|Kaufman|Justeson|2007|p=193}} Whether chicolatl means "cacao beater", however, is contested, due to difficulty knowing what chico means.{{Sfnp|Kaufman|Justeson|2007|p=218}}

The term "chocolatier", for a chocolate confection maker, is recorded from 1859.{{Cite OED|term=chocolatier|id=2267654095|access-date=16 July 2024}}

{{Main|History of chocolate}}

File:Aztec. Man Carrying a Cacao Pod, 1440-1521.jpg

Evidence for the domestication of the cacao tree exists as early as 5300 BP in South America, in present-day southeast Ecuador by the Mayo-Chinchipe culture, before it was introduced to Mesoamerica.{{Harvsp|Lanaud et al.|2024|p=8}} It is unknown when chocolate was first consumed as opposed to other cacao-based drinks, and there is evidence the Olmecs, the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization, fermented the sweet pulp surrounding the cacao beans into an alcoholic beverage.{{Sfnp|Coe|Coe|2013|loc=The Tree of the Food of the Gods}}{{Sfnp|Collins|2022|pp=301–302}} Chocolate was extremely important to several Mesoamerican societies,{{Sfnp|MacLeod|2000|p=636}} and cacao was considered a gift from the gods by the Mayans and the Aztecs.{{Sfnp|Vail|2008|p=10}}{{Sfnp|Collins|2022|pp=160-162}} The cocoa bean was used as a currency across civilizations and was used in ceremonies, as a tribute to leaders and gods and as a medicine.{{Sfnp|Coe|Coe|2013|loc=The Maya on the Eve of the Conquest}}{{Sfnp|Leissle|2018|p=34}}{{Sfnp|Coe|Coe|2013|p=95}}{{Sfnp|Presilla|2009|pp=12, 16, 22}}{{Sfnp|Aguilar-Moreno|2006|p=274}}{{Sfnp|Grivetti|2008b|p=68}} Chocolate in Mesoamerica was a bitter drink, flavored with additives such as vanilla, earflower and chili, and was capped with a dark brown foam created by pouring the liquid from a height between containers.{{Sfnp|Coe|Coe|2013|loc=Flavorings, Spices, and Other Additions}}{{Sfnp|Coe|Coe|2013|loc=Cacao Preparation among the Late Maya}}{{Sfnp|Coe|Coe|2013|loc=Lords of the Forest: The Classic Maya}}

While Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés may have been the first European to encounter chocolate when he observed it in the court of Moctezuma II in 1520,{{Harvsp|Dillinger et al.|2000|page=2058S-2059S}}{{Sfnp|Grivetti|2008a|p=100}} it proved to be an acquired taste,{{Sfnp|Collins|2022|p=285–288}}{{Sfnp|Norton|2004|p=15}} and it took until 1585 for the first official recording of a shipment of cocoa beans to Europe.{{Sfnp|Coe|Coe|2013|loc=Cacao in Spain: "Chocolate Brought to Perfection"}} Chocolate was believed to be an aphrodisiac and medicine, and spread across Europe in the 17th century, sweetened, served warm and flavored with familiar spices.{{Sfnp|Coe|Coe|2013|loc=Chocolate and the English}}{{Sfnp|Coe|Coe|2013|loc=New Spain and Central America}}{{Sfnp|Coe|Coe|2013|loc=Crossing the Taste Barrier}} It was initially primarily consumed by the elite, with expensive cocoa supplied by colonial plantations in the Americas.{{Sfnp|Coe|Coe|2013|loc=Chocolate and the English}} In the 18th century, it was considered southern European, aristocratic and Catholic and was still produced in a similar way to the way it had been produced by the Aztecs.{{Sfnp|Coe|Coe|2013|loc=Chapter 7}}File:Fry's Chocolate Cream split.jpg, was produced by Fry's in 1866.{{cite book |last=Mintz |first=Sidney |title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=157}}{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PJxwAwAAQBAJ | title=Tout sur le chocolat | publisher=Odile Jacob | author=Khodorowsky, Katherine | year=2009 | pages=47 | isbn=978-2-7381-9390-2 | quote=(oubliant celle de Menier en 1836) | trans-quote=(forgetting that of Menier in 1836)}}]]Starting in the 18th century, chocolate production was improved. In the 19th century, engine-powered milling was developed,{{Sfnp|Snyder|Olsen|Brindle|2008|p=612}}{{Sfnp|Coe|Coe|2013|loc=Quaker Capitalists}} and in 1828, Coenraad Johannes van Houten received a patent for a process making Dutch cocoa. This removed cocoa butter from chocolate liquor (the product of milling), and permitted large scale production of chocolate.{{Sfnp|Coe|Coe|2013|loc=A Break with the Past: Van Houten's Inventions}} Other developments in the 19th century, including the melanger (a mixing machine), modern milk chocolate, the conching process to make chocolate smoother and change the flavor meant a worker in 1890 could produce fifty times more chocolate with the same labor than they could before the Industrial Revolution, and chocolate became a food to be eaten rather than drunk.{{Sfnp|Coe|Coe|2013|loc=Switzerland: Land of Cows and Chocolate}} As production moved from the Americas to Asia and Africa, mass markets in Western nations for chocolate opened up.{{Sfnp|Clarence-Smith|2000|p=48}}

In the early 20th century, British chocolate producers including Cadbury and Fry's faced controversy over the labor conditions in the Portuguese cacao industry in Africa. A 1908 report by a Cadbury agent described conditions as "de facto slavery."{{Sfnp|Walker|2008|p=553}} While conditions somewhat improved with a boycott by chocolate makers,{{Sfnp|Coe|Coe|2013|loc=Quaker Capitalists}}{{Sfnp|Leissle|2018|p=41}} slave labor among African cacao growers again gained public attention in the early 21st century.{{Sfnp|Leissle|2018|p=28}} During the 20th century, chocolate production further developed, with development of the tempering technique to improve the snap and gloss of chocolate and the addition of lecithin to improve texture and consistency.{{Sfnp|Snyder|Olsen|Brindle|2008|p=620}}{{Sfnp|Moss|Badenoch|2009|p=63}} White and couverture chocolate were developed in the 20th century and the bean-to-bar trade model began.{{Sfnp|Beckett|2019|p=10}}{{Sfnp|Garrone|Pieters|Swinnen|2016|p=91}}{{Sfnp|Leissle|2018|p=39}}

{{Main|Types of chocolate}}

File:Läderach.jpg

Several types of chocolate can be distinguished. Pure, unsweetened chocolate, often called "baking chocolate", contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions. Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form of sweet chocolate, which combines chocolate with sugar.

The traditional types of chocolate are dark, milk and white. All of them contain cocoa butter, which is the ingredient defining the physical properties of chocolate (consistency and melting temperature). Plain (or dark) chocolate, as it name suggests, is a form of chocolate that is similar to pure cocoa liquor, although is usually made with a slightly higher proportion of cocoa butter.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=404r7yb-618C | title=Chocolate Science and Technology | publisher=John Wiley & Sons | author=Afoakwa, Emmanuel Ohene | year=2011 | chapter=7.3 Materials and Methods | isbn=978-1-4443-5733-2 | quote=Recipes used for the formulation of the dark chocolate | access-date=27 May 2023 | archive-date=18 May 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230518114316/https://books.google.com/books?id=404r7yb-618C | url-status=live }} It is simply defined by its cocoa percentage. In milk chocolate, the non-fat cocoa solids are partly or mostly replaced by milk solids.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cD-8DwAAQBAJ | title=Handbook of Food Structure Development | publisher=Royal Society of Chemistry | author=Spyropoulos, Fotis | year=2019 | pages=136 | isbn=978-1-78801-216-4 | access-date=16 April 2023 | archive-date=11 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311110241/https://books.google.com/books?id=cD-8DwAAQBAJ | url-status=live }} In white chocolate, they are all replaced by milk solids, hence its ivory color.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x_AaDgAAQBAJ | title=Beckett's Industrial Chocolate Manufacture and Use | publisher=John Wiley & Sons | author=Beckett, Steve T. | year=2017 | pages=498 | isbn=978-1-118-78014-5 | quote=Typical recipes for white bar chocolate | access-date=16 April 2023 | archive-date=6 May 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230506133305/https://books.google.com/books?id=x_AaDgAAQBAJ | url-status=live }}

Other forms of eating chocolate exist, these include raw chocolate (made with unroasted beans) and ruby chocolate. An additional popular form of eating chocolate, gianduja, is made by incorporating nut paste (typically hazelnut) to the chocolate paste.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8vxxCQAAQBAJ | title=Pure Dessert: True Flavors, Inspiring Ingredients, and Simple Recipes | publisher=Artisan Books | author=Medrich, Alice | year=2015 | pages=157 | isbn=978-1-57965-685-0 | quote=gianduja resembles a bar of chocolate. It is softer on the tooth than a plain chocolate bar (because of the oil from the hazelnuts) | access-date=16 April 2023 | archive-date=6 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306093502/https://books.google.com/books?id=8vxxCQAAQBAJ | url-status=live }}

Other types of chocolate are used in baking and confectionery. These include baking chocolate (often unsweetened), couverture chocolate (used for coating), compound chocolate (a lower-cost alternative) and modeling chocolate. Modeling chocolate is a chocolate paste made by melting chocolate and combining it with corn syrup, glucose syrup, or golden syrup.{{cite web | author=Peters, Colette | title=Modeling Chocolate | website=Food & Wine | date=6 December 2013 | url=http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/modeling-chocolate | access-date=28 May 2015 | archive-date=3 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203092239/https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/modeling-chocolate | url-status=live }}

File:Cocoa Pods.JPGChocolate is made from cocoa beans, the dried and fermented seeds of the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao), a small, 4–8 m tall (15–26 ft tall) evergreen tree native to the deep tropical region of the Americas.

Recent genetic studies suggest the most common genotype of the plant originated in the Amazon basin and was gradually transported by humans throughout South and Central America. Early forms of another genotype have also been found in what is now Venezuela. The scientific name, Theobroma, means "food of the gods".{{cite web |date=1995–2008 |title=Cacao |url=http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/cacao-02.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514090427/http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/cacao-02.html |archive-date=14 May 2008 |access-date=27 June 2008 |publisher=Botanica.com}} The fruit, called a cocoa pod, is ovoid, {{convert|15|–|30|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|8|–|10|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} wide, ripening yellow to orange, and weighing about {{convert|500|g|lb|abbr=on}} when ripe.

Cacao trees are small, understory trees that need rich, well-drained soils. They naturally grow within 20° of either side of the equator because they need about 2000 mm of rainfall a year, and temperatures in the range of {{convert|21|to|32|C|F}}. Cacao trees cannot tolerate a temperature lower than {{convert|15|C|F}}.{{cite web |title=All About Chocolate: The Cacao Tree |url=http://www.xocoatl.org/tree.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219204425/http://www.xocoatl.org/tree.htm |archive-date=19 December 2007 |access-date=20 December 2007 |publisher=Xocoatl}}

The sequencing in 2010 of the genome of the cacao tree may allow yields to be improved.{{Cite news|title=Chocolate industry avoids collapse as genome published|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11747616|access-date=15 November 2010|publisher=BBC|date=14 November 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115043552/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11747616|archive-date=15 November 2010}} Due to concerns about global warming effects on lowland climate in the narrow band of latitudes where cocoa is grown (20 degrees north and south of the equator), the commercial company Mars, Incorporated and the University of California, Berkeley, are conducting genomic research in 2017–18 to improve the survivability of cacao plants in hot climates.{{cite news|last1=Brodwin|first1=Erin|title=Chocolate is on track to go extinct in 40 years|newspaper=Business Insider|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/when-chocolate-extinct-2017-12|publisher=Business Insider, Inc.|access-date=31 January 2018|date=31 December 2017|archive-date=31 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131040813/http://www.businessinsider.com/when-chocolate-extinct-2017-12|url-status=live}}

{{main|Cocoa bean#Varieties}}

The three main varieties of cocoa beans used in chocolate are criollo, forastero, and trinitario.

File:Dancing The Cocoa, McBride's estate, El Cidros, Trinidad c. 1957.jpg, c. 1957]]

Cocoa pods are harvested by cutting them from the tree using a machete, or by knocking them off the tree using a stick. It is important to harvest the pods when they are fully ripe, because if the pod is unripe, the beans will have a low cocoa butter content, or low sugar content, reducing the ultimate flavor.

{{main|Cocoa bean fermentation}}

The beans (which are sterile within their pods) and their surrounding pulp are removed from the pods and placed in piles or bins to ferment. Micro-organisms, present naturally in the environment, ferment the pectin-containing material. Yeasts produce ethanol, lactic acid bacteria produce lactic acid, and acetic acid bacteria produce acetic acid. In some cocoa-producing regions an association between filamentous fungi and bacteria (called "cocobiota") acts to produce metabolites beneficial to human health when consumed.{{cite book |last1=Guzmán-Alvarez |first1= Romel |last2=G. Márquez-Ramos |first2=José |editor1-last=Laranjo |editor1-first=Marta |title=Fermentation – Processes, Benefits and Risks |date=2021 |publisher=University of Évora|location=Évora, Portugal |isbn=978-1-83968-816-4 |page=128}} The fermentation process, which takes up to seven days, also produces several flavor precursors, that eventually provide the chocolate taste.{{Cite journal

| last1 = Schwan | first1 = R.

| last2 = Wheals | first2 = A.

| doi = 10.1080/10408690490464104

| title = The Microbiology of Cocoa Fermentation and its Role in Chocolate Quality

| journal = Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition

| volume = 44

| issue = 4

| pages = 205–221

| year = 2004

| pmid = 15462126

| s2cid = 34523445

}}

After fermentation, the beans must be dried to prevent mold growth. Climate and weather permitting, this is done by spreading the beans out in the sun from five to seven days.{{cite web |title=Harvesting the seeds |url=http://www.xocoatl.org/harvest.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521035551/http://www.xocoatl.org/harvest.htm |archive-date=21 May 2008 |access-date=20 May 2008 |publisher=Xocoatl}} In some growing regions (for example, Tobago), the dried beans are then polished for sale by "dancing the cocoa": spreading the beans onto a floor, adding oil or water, and shuffling the beans against each other using bare feet.{{cite book |last1=O'Donnell |first1=Kathleen |title=Adventure guide to Trinidad & Tobago |date=2000 |publisher=Hunter |location=Edison, N.J. |isbn=1-55650-886-7 |page=29 |edition=2nd}}

In an alternative process known as moist incubation, the beans are dried without fermentation. The nibs are then removed and hydrated in an acidic solution. They are heated for 72 hours and dried again. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry showed that the incubated chocolate had higher levels of Strecker aldehydes, and lower levels of pyrazines.{{Cite web |last=Coxworth |first=Ben |date=27 April 2022 |title=New bean treatment shown to produce fruitier, flowerier dark chocolate |url=https://newatlas.com/science/moist-incubation-better-dark-chocolate/ |access-date=29 April 2022 |website=New Atlas |language=en-US |archive-date=29 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220429001800/https://newatlas.com/science/moist-incubation-better-dark-chocolate/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=28 April 2022 |title='Moist incubation' process for fruitier dark chocolate |url=https://www.foodprocessing.com.au/content/processing/article/,%20http://foodprocessing.com.au/content/processing/article/-moist-incubation-process-for-fruitier-dark-chocolate-304823853 |access-date=29 April 2022 |website=www.foodprocessing.com.au |language=en }}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

File:Ghirardelli Chocolate Square 9 2013-03-28.jpg (left) mixes milk, sugar, and other ingredients into the liquor.]]

The dried beans are then transported to a chocolate manufacturing facility. The beans are cleaned (removing twigs, stones, and other debris), roasted, and graded. Next, the shell of each bean is removed to extract the nib. The nibs are ground and liquefied, resulting in pure chocolate liquor.{{cite web |title=Making Chocolate from Scratch |url=http://api.ning.com/files/Gr6vd-Aqjs2vj5t4p5tX-cZBB1kpTzKVDk8I59vVV6*FgB5zFYsVooD0wRRlQHO8tNMURHMwKR5hmuPX2Pe3al3iWOhcsi5S/Makingchocolatefromscratch.pdf |access-date=2 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100331152948/http://api.ning.com/files/Gr6vd-Aqjs2vj5t4p5tX-cZBB1kpTzKVDk8I59vVV6*FgB5zFYsVooD0wRRlQHO8tNMURHMwKR5hmuPX2Pe3al3iWOhcsi5S/Makingchocolatefromscratch.pdf |archive-date=31 March 2010 }} The liquor can be further processed into cocoa solids and cocoa butter.{{cite web |url=http://www.cocoatree.org/frombeantobar/atthechocolatefactory.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070114080555/http://www.cocoatree.org/frombeantobar/atthechocolatefactory.asp |archive-date=14 January 2007 |title=At the chocolate factory |publisher=The Cocoa Tree |access-date=20 May 2008}}

Producers of high-quality, small-batch chocolate argue that mass production produces bad-quality chocolate.{{cite web|first=Kristine|last=Kowalchuk|url=http://www.ama.ab.ca/cps/rde/xchg/ama/web/membership_WWarticle-Feb08-UpFront-10192.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228014251/http://www.ama.ab.ca/cps/rde/xchg/ama/web/membership_WWarticle-Feb08-UpFront-10192.htm|archive-date=28 February 2008|title=Cuckoo for Cocoa|publisher=Westworld Alberta|access-date=1 February 2008}} Some mass-produced chocolate contains much less cocoa (as low as 7% in many cases), and fats other than cocoa butter. Vegetable oils and artificial vanilla flavor are often used in cheaper chocolate to mask poorly fermented and/or roasted beans.

{{Main|Conching}}

File:Conche.jpg

The penultimate process is called conching. A conche is a container filled with metal beads, which act as grinders. The refined and blended chocolate mass is kept in a liquid state by frictional heat. Chocolate before conching has an uneven and gritty texture. The conching process produces cocoa and sugar particles smaller than the tongue can detect (typically around 20 μm) and reduces rough edges, hence the smooth feel in the mouth. The length of the conching process determines the final smoothness and quality of the chocolate. High-quality chocolate is conched for about 72 hours, and lesser grades about four to six hours. After the process is complete, the chocolate mass is stored in tanks heated to about {{convert|45|to|50|C|F}} until final processing.{{cite web|first=Stephanie|last=Zonis|url=http://www.sallys-place.com/food/columns/zonis/conching.htm|title=Conching: Crucial Step in Chocolate's Flavor and Texture?|publisher=Sally's Place|access-date=20 May 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617203722/http://www.sallys-place.com/food/columns/zonis/conching.htm|archive-date=17 June 2008}}

{{Main|Tempering chocolate}}

After conching, chocolate is tempered. This process aims to create a crystallize a small amount of fat in a particularly stable formation. Around this small amount of crystals, the rest of the fats crystallize, creating a glossy chocolate, with a crisp break.{{Sfnp|Beckett|2019|p=95}}{{Sfnp|Beckett|2019|p=81}}

File:Various chocolate types.jpg and callets]]Chocolate is molded in different shapes for different uses:{{Cite web |last=Lawandi |first=Janice |date=20 November 2018 |title=Everything you need to know about the different types of chocolate |url=https://bakeschool.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-types-of-chocolate-for-baking/ |access-date=19 July 2021 |website=The Bake School |language=en-US |archive-date=19 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719130011/https://bakeschool.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-types-of-chocolate-for-baking/ |url-status=live }}

• Chocolate bars (tablets) are rectangular blocks of chocolate meant to be broken down to cubes (or other predefined shapes), which can then be used for consumption, cooking and baking. The term is also used for combination bars, which are a type of candy bars
• Chocolate chips are small pieces of chocolate, usually drop-like, which are meant for decoration and baking
• Pistoles, callets and fèves are small, coin-like or bean-like pieces of chocolate meant for baking and patisserie applications {{xref|(see also: Pistole and Fève)}}
• Chocolate blocks are large, cuboid chunks of chocolate meant for professional use and further processing
• Other, more specialized shapes for chocolate include sticks, curls and hollow semi-spheres

Chocolate is very sensitive to temperature and humidity. Ideal storage temperatures are between {{convert|15|and|17|C|F}}, with a relative humidity of less than 50%. If refrigerated or frozen without containment, chocolate can absorb enough moisture to cause a whitish discoloration, the result of fat or sugar crystals rising to the surface. Various types of "blooming" effects can occur if chocolate is stored or served improperly.{{Cite journal|title=X-rays reveal how chocolate turns white|journal=Science|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/x-rays-reveal-how-chocolate-turns-white|last=DeMarco|first=E.|date=7 May 2015|access-date=8 May 2015|doi=10.1126/science.aac4563|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508180034/http://news.sciencemag.org/chemistry/2015/05/x-rays-reveal-how-chocolate-turns-white|archive-date=8 May 2015}}

Chocolate bloom is caused by storage temperature fluctuating or exceeding {{convert|24|C|F}}, while sugar bloom is caused by temperature below {{convert|15|C|F}} or excess humidity. To distinguish between different types of bloom, one can rub the surface of the chocolate lightly, and if the bloom disappears, it is fat bloom. Moving chocolate between temperature extremes, can result in an oily texture. Although visually unappealing, chocolate suffering from bloom is safe for consumption and taste is unaffected.{{cite web|publisher=Ghirardelli |title=Tips for Chocolate Care |url=http://www.ghirardelli.com/chocopedia/tips.aspx |access-date=16 April 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206082048/http://ghirardelli.com/chocopedia/tips.aspx |archive-date=6 February 2007 }}{{cite web |first=Teresa |last=Miller |url=http://www.cals.wisc.edu/media/news/01_97/milkfat_chocolate.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609144511/http://www.cals.wisc.edu/media/news/01_97/milkfat_chocolate.html |archive-date=9 June 2007 |title=Milkfat Fractions Help Beat Blooming Chocolate |publisher=College of Agricultural Life and Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison |access-date=16 April 2007}}{{cite web |url=http://www.cocoabella.com/chocolates02.php |publisher=CocoaBella |title=How to Store Chocolate |access-date=16 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208160345/http://www.cocoabella.com/chocolates02.php |archive-date=8 February 2007}} Bloom can be reversed by retempering the chocolate or using it for any use that requires melting the chocolate.{{cite book |editor-last=Bau |editor-first=Frederic |year=2011 |title=Cooking With Chocolate: Essential Recipes and Techniques |location=Paris |publisher=Flammarion, S.A. |page=147 |isbn=978-2-08-020081-5}}

Chocolate is generally stored away from other foods, as it can absorb aromas. Ideally, chocolates are packed or wrapped, and placed in proper storage with the correct humidity and temperature. Additionally, chocolate is frequently stored in a dark place or protected from light by wrapping paper. The glossy shine, snap, aroma, texture, and taste of the chocolate can show the quality and whether it was stored well.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bhg.com/recipes/desserts/chocolate/chocolate-types-selection--storage/|title=Chocolate: Types (Unsweetened, Bittersweet, Semisweet, Milk), Selection, and Storage|date=9 June 2015|work=Better Homes & Gardens|access-date=10 May 2018|language=en|archive-date=4 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004030532/https://www.bhg.com/recipes/desserts/chocolate/chocolate-types-selection--storage/|url-status=live}}

{{More medical citations needed|reason=Outdated research, i.e. lead citing 2005 research|date=September 2024}}

{{nutritional value

| name = Candies, milk chocolate

| water = 1.5 g

| kJ = 2240

| protein = 7.6 g

| fat = 29.7

| carbs = 59.4

| fiber = 3.4 g

| opt1n = Theobromine

| opt1v = 205 mg

| sugars = 51.5 g

| calcium_mg = 189

| iron_mg = 2.4

| magnesium_mg = 63

| phosphorus_mg = 208

| potassium_mg = 372

| sodium_mg = 79

| zinc_mg = 2.3

| manganese_mg = 0.5

| selenium_ug = 4.5

| vitC_mg = 0

| thiamin_mg = 0.1

| riboflavin_mg = 0.3

| niacin_mg = 0.4

| vitB6_mg = 0.0

| folate_ug = 11

| vitB12_ug = 0.7

| pantothenic_mg = 0.5

| choline_mg = 46.1

| vitA_iu = 195

| vitE_mg = 0.5

| vitK_ug = 5.7

| cholesterol = 23 mg

| caffeine = 20 mg

| source_usda = 1

| note = [https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/167587/nutrients Link to USDA Database entry]

}}

One hundred grams of milk chocolate supplies 540 calories. It is 59% carbohydrates (52% as sugar and 3% as dietary fiber), 30% fat and 8% protein (table). Approximately 65% of the fat in milk chocolate is saturated, mainly palmitic acid and stearic acid, while the predominant unsaturated fat is oleic acid (table).

One hundred grams of milk chocolate is an excellent source (over 19% of the Daily Value, DV) of riboflavin, vitamin B12 and the dietary minerals manganese, phosphorus and zinc. Chocolate is a good source (10–19% DV) of calcium, magnesium and iron.

{{also|Polyphenol#Research}}

Chocolate contains polyphenols, especially flavan-3-ols (catechins) and smaller amounts of other flavonoids.{{cite journal | vauthors=Zięba K, Makarewicz-Wujec M, Kozłowska-Wojciechowska | title=Cardioprotective mechanisms of cocoa | journal=Journal of the American College of Nutrition | volume=38 | issue=6 | pages=564–575 | year=2019 | doi = 10.1080/07315724.2018.1557087 | pmid=30620683| s2cid=58582304 }}{{Cite journal|last1=Miller|first1=K. B.|last2=Hurst|first2=W. J.|last3=Payne|first3=M. J.|last4=Stuart|first4=D. A.|last5=Apgar|first5=J.|last6=Sweigart|first6=D. S.|last7=Ou|first7=B.|year=2008|title=Impact of Alkalization on the Antioxidant and Flavanol Content of Commercial Cocoa Powders|journal=Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry|volume=56|issue=18|pages=8527–33; 8527|doi=10.1021/jf801670p|pmid=18710243|bibcode=2008JAFC...56.8527M }} It also contains alkaloids, such as theobromine, phenethylamine, and caffeine, {{cite web|url=http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/mhdao/Factsheets/Pages/caffeine.aspx|title=Caffeine|website=New South Wales Government|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924011118/http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/mhdao/Factsheets/Pages/caffeine.aspx|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live|access-date=8 September 2015}} which are under study for their potential effects in the body.{{cite journal|last1=Miller |first1=Kenneth B. |last2=Hurst |first2=W. Jeffrey |last3=Flannigan |first3=Nancy |last4=Ou |first4=Boxin |last5=Lee |first5=C. Y. |last6=Smith |first6=Nancy |last7=Stuart |first7=David A. |title=Survey of Commercially Available Chocolate- and Cocoa-Containing Products in the United States. 2. Comparison of Flavan-3-ol Content with Nonfat Cocoa Solids, Total Polyphenols, and Percent Cacao |journal=Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry |volume=57 |issue=19 |pages=9169–80 |year=2009 |pmid=19754118 |doi=10.1021/jf901821x |bibcode=2009JAFC...57.9169M }}

File:Chocolate02.jpg

It is unlikely that chocolate consumption in small amounts causes lead poisoning. Some studies have shown that lead may bind to cocoa shells, and contamination may occur during the manufacturing process.{{cite journal |last1=Rankin|first1=CW|last2=Nriagu |first2=JO |last3=Aggarwal |first3=JK |last4=Arowolo |first4=TA |last5=Adebayo |first5=K |last6=Flegal |first6=AR |title=Lead contamination in cocoa and cocoa products: isotopic evidence of global contamination |journal=Environmental Health Perspectives |volume=113 |issue=10 |pages=1344–1348 |date=October 2005 |pmid=16203244 |pmc=1281277 |doi=10.1289/ehp.8009|bibcode=2005EnvHP.113.1344R }} One study showed the mean lead level in milk chocolate candy bars was 0.027 μg lead per gram of candy; another study found that some chocolate purchased at U.S. supermarkets contained up to 0.965 μg per gram, close to the international (voluntary) standard limit for lead in cocoa powder or beans, which is 1 μg of lead per gram.{{cite journal |last1=Heneman |first1=Karrie |last2=Zidenberg-Cherr |first2=Sheri |title=Is lead toxicity still a risk to U.S. children? |journal=California Agriculture |volume=60 |issue=4 |year=2006 |pages=180–4 |doi=10.3733/ca.v060n04p180 |doi-access=free }} In 2006, the U.S. FDA lowered by one-fifth the amount of lead permissible in candy, but compliance is only voluntary.{{cite web |first=Lorraine |last=Heller |title=FDA issues new guidance on lead in candy |publisher=FoodNavigator.com |date=29 November 2006 |url=http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng.asp?id=72399-lead-candy |access-date=15 February 2007 |archive-date=31 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100331092648/http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng.asp?id=72399-lead-candy |url-status=live }} Studies concluded that "children, who are big consumers of chocolates, may be at risk of exceeding the daily limit of lead, [as] one 10 g cube of dark chocolate may contain as much as 20% of the daily lead oral limit. Moreover chocolate may not be the only source of lead in their nutrition"{{cite journal|last1=Yanus |first1=Rinat Levi |last2=Sela |first2=Hagit |last3=Borojovich |first3=Eitan J.C. |last4=Zakon |first4=Yevgeni |last5=Saphier |first5=Magal |last6=Nikolski |first6=Andrey |last7=Gutflais |first7=Efi |last8=Lorber |first8=Avraham |last9=Karpas |first9=Zeev |title=Trace elements in cocoa solids and chocolate: An ICPMS study |journal=Talanta |volume=119 |pages=1–4 |year=2014 |pmid=24401377 |doi=10.1016/j.talanta.2013.10.048 }} and "chocolate might be a significant source of cadmium and lead ingestion, particularly for children."{{cite journal |last1=Villa |first1=Javier E. L. |last2=Peixoto |first2=Rafaella R. A. |last3=Cadore |first3=Solange |title=Cadmium and Lead in Chocolates Commercialized in Brazil |journal=Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry |volume=62 |issue=34 |pages=8759–63 |year=2014 |pmid=25123980 |doi=10.1021/jf5026604 |bibcode=2014JAFC...62.8759V }} According to a 2005 study, the average lead concentration of cocoa beans is ≤ 0.5 ng/g, which is one of the lowest reported values for a natural food. However, during cultivation and production, chocolate may absorb lead from the environment (such as in atmospheric emissions of now unused leaded gasoline).{{Cite web |title=The World Has Finally Stopped Using Leaded Gasoline |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/08/30/1031429212/the-world-has-finally-stopped-using-leaded-gasoline-algeria-used-the-last-stockp |access-date= |website=NPR |archive-date=28 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128043201/https://www.npr.org/2021/08/30/1031429212/the-world-has-finally-stopped-using-leaded-gasoline-algeria-used-the-last-stockp |url-status=live }}

The European Food Safety Authority recommended a tolerable weekly intake for cadmium of 2.5 micrograms per kg of body weight for Europeans, indicating that consuming chocolate products caused exposure of about 4% among all foods eaten.{{cite news |last1=Whitworth |first1=Joe |title=EU lowers lead and cadmium limits for food products |url=https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2021/08/eu-lowers-lead-and-cadmium-limits-for-food-products/ |access-date=15 March 2023 |work=Food Safety News |date=13 August 2021 |archive-date=15 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315135706/https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2021/08/eu-lowers-lead-and-cadmium-limits-for-food-products/ |url-status=live }}{{CELEX|32021R1323|text=Commission Regulation (EU) 2021/1323 of 10 August 2021 amending Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 as regards maximum levels of cadmium in certain foodstuffs}}. (Implicitly repealed by {{CELEX|32023R0915}}.) Maximum levels for baby foods and chocolate/cocoa products were established under Commission Regulation (EU) No 488/2014.{{CELEX|32014R0488|text=Commission Regulation (EU) No 488/2014 of 12 May 2014 amending Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 as regards maximum levels of cadmium in foodstuffs Text with EEA relevance}}. (Implicitly repealed by {{CELEX|32023R0915}}.) 1986 California Proposition 65 requires a warning label on chocolate products having more than 4.1 mg of cadmium per daily serving of a single product.{{cite news |last1=Nieburg |first1=Oliver |title=Killing at source: How to avoid cadmium and lead in chocolate |url=https://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2016/09/16/How-to-avoid-cadmium-and-lead-in-chocolate-Safety-recall-prevention |access-date=14 March 2023 |publisher=Confectionery News |date=15 September 2016 |quote=Last updated on 13-Aug-2019 |archive-date=1 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201162436/https://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2016/09/16/How-to-avoid-cadmium-and-lead-in-chocolate-Safety-recall-prevention |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Lead and Cadmium Could Be in Your Dark Chocolate |url=https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-safety/lead-and-cadmium-in-dark-chocolate-a8480295550/ |access-date=14 March 2023 |work=Consumer Reports |archive-date=12 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112194257/https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-safety/lead-and-cadmium-in-dark-chocolate-a8480295550/ |url-status=live }}{{cite journal |last1=Abt |first1=Eileen |last2=Fong Sam |first2=Jennifer |last3=Gray |first3=Patrick |last4=Robin |first4=Lauren Posnick |title=Cadmium and lead in cocoa powder and chocolate products in the US Market |journal=Food Additives & Contaminants: Part B |date=3 April 2018 |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=92–102 |doi=10.1080/19393210.2017.1420700|pmid=29310543|s2cid=13677509 }}

One tablespoonful (5 grams) of dry unsweetened cocoa powder has 12.1 mg of caffeine{{Cite web|url=https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sweets/5471/2|title=Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened Nutrition Facts & Calories|website=nutritiondata.self.com|language=en-US|access-date=24 August 2018|archive-date=24 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180824034242/https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sweets/5471/2|url-status=live}} and a 25-g single serving of dark chocolate has 22.4 mg of caffeine.{{Cite web|url=https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sweets/10638/2|title=Candies, chocolate, dark, 70–85% cocoa solids Nutrition Facts & Calories|website=nutritiondata.self.com|language=en-US|access-date=24 August 2018|archive-date=24 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180824034245/https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sweets/10638/2|url-status=live}} This is much less than the amount found in coffee, of which a single 7 oz. (200 ml) serving may contain 80–175 mg of caffeine,{{cite journal|last1=Bunker|first1=M. L.|last2=McWilliams|first2=M.|year=1979|title=Caffeine content of common beverages|journal=Journal of the American Dietetic Association|volume=74|issue=1|pages=28–32|doi=10.1016/S0002-8223(21)39775-9|pmid=762339|s2cid=10192823}} though studies have shown psychoactive effects in caffeine doses as low as 9 mg, and a dose as low as 12.5 mg was shown to have effects on cognitive performance.{{Cite journal|last1=Smit|first1=H. J.|last2=Rogers|first2=P. J.|date=October 2010|title=Effects of low doses of caffeine on cognitive performance, mood and thirst in low and higher caffeine consumers|journal=Psychopharmacology|volume=152|issue=2|pages=167–173|issn=0033-3158|pmid=11057520|doi=10.1007/s002130000506|s2cid=7176784}}

Chocolate may be a factor for heartburn in some people because one of its constituents, theobromine, may affect the esophageal sphincter muscle in a way that permits stomach acids to enter the esophagus.{{cite journal |author=Latif, R |date=March 2013 |title=Chocolate/cocoa and human health: a review |journal=Neth J Med |volume=71 |issue=2 |pages=63–8 |pmid=23462053 |url=http://www.njmonline.nl/getpdf.php?id=1269 |access-date=7 January 2019 |archive-date=31 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331041216/http://njmonline.nl/getpdf.php?id=1269 |url-status=live }} Theobromine poisoning is an overdosage reaction to the bitter alkaloid, which happens more frequently in domestic animals than humans. However, daily intake of 50–100 g cocoa (0.8–1.5 g theobromine) by humans has been associated with sweating, trembling, and severe headache.{{Cite web |title=Theobromine: Toxicity summary |url=https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Theobromine#section=Toxicity-Summary |access-date=26 November 2023 |publisher=PubChem, U.S. National Library of Medicine |date=25 November 2023 |archive-date=26 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126153219/https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Theobromine#section=Toxicity-Summary |url-status=live }}

Chocolate and cocoa contain moderate to high amounts of oxalate,{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/j.jfca.2011.03.008 | title = Oxalate content in commercially produced cocoa and dark chocolate | year = 2011 | last1 = Schroder | first1 = Theresa | last2 = Vanhanen | first2 = Leo | last3 = Savage | first3 = Geoffrey P. | journal = Journal of Food Composition and Analysis | volume = 24 | issue = 7 | pages = 916–922}}{{Cite journal | pmid = 8833428 | year = 1995 | last1 = Aremu | first1 = CY | last2 = Agiang | first2 = MA | last3 = Ayatse | first3 = JO | title = Nutrient and antinutrient profiles of raw and fermented cocoa beans | volume = 48 | issue = 3 | pages = 217–23 | journal = Plant Foods for Human Nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands) | doi=10.1007/bf01088443| bibcode = 1995PFHN...48..217A | s2cid = 21376588 }} which may increase the risk of kidney stones.{{cite web|url=http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/kidney_stones/np_overview.aspx |title=Kidney Stones: Overview from the Nephrology Department |publisher=Cleveland Clinic |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705020952/https://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/kidney_stones/np_overview.aspx |archive-date=5 July 2013 }}

{{Main|Theobromine poisoning}}

In sufficient amounts, the theobromine found in chocolate is toxic to animals such as cats, dogs, horses, parrots, and small rodents because they are unable to metabolize the chemical effectively.{{cite book |author=Smit HJ |chapter=Theobromine and the Pharmacology of Cocoa |title=Methylxanthines |year=2011 |volume=200 |issue= |pages=201–34 |doi= 10.1007/978-3-642-13443-2_7|pmid=20859797 |series=Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology |isbn=978-3-642-13442-5 }} If animals are fed chocolate, the theobromine may remain in the circulation for up to 20 hours, possibly causing epileptic seizures, heart attacks, internal bleeding, and eventually death. Medical treatment performed by a veterinarian involves inducing vomiting within two hours of ingestion and administration of benzodiazepines or barbiturates for seizures, antiarrhythmics for heart arrhythmias, and fluid diuresis.

A typical {{convert|20|kg|lb|adj=on}} dog will normally experience great intestinal distress after eating less than {{convert|240|g|oz}} of dark chocolate, but will not necessarily experience bradycardia or tachycardia unless it eats at least a half a kilogram (1.1 lb) of milk chocolate. Dark chocolate has 2 to 5 times more theobromine and thus is more dangerous to dogs. According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, approximately 1.3 grams of baker's chocolate per kilogram of a dog's body weight (0.02 oz/lb) is sufficient to cause symptoms of toxicity. For example, a typical {{convert|25|g|oz|adj=on}} baker's chocolate bar would be enough to bring about symptoms in a {{convert|20|kg|lb|adj=on}} dog. In the 20th century, there were reports that mulch made from cocoa bean shells is dangerous to dogs and livestock.{{cite journal |last1=Drolet |first1=R |last2=Arendt |first2=TD |last3=Stowe |first3=CM |title=Cacao bean shell poisoning in a dog |journal=Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association |volume=185 |issue=8 |pages=902 |year=1984 |doi=10.2460/javma.1984.185.08.902 |pmid=6501051 }}{{cite journal |last1=Blakemore |first1=F |last2=Shearer |first2=GD |title=The poisoning of livestock by cacao products |journal=Veterinary Record |year=1943 |volume=55 |issue=15 |pages=165 }}

Commonly consumed chocolate is high in fat and sugar, which are associated with an increased risk for obesity when chocolate is consumed in excess.{{Cite journal |last1=Powell-Wiley |first1=Tiffany M. |last2=Poirier |first2=Paul |last3=Burke |first3=Lora E. |last4=Després |first4=Jean-Pierre |last5=Gordon-Larsen |first5=Penny |last6=Lavie |first6=Carl J. |last7=Lear |first7=Scott A. |last8=Ndumele |first8=Chiadi E. |last9=Neeland |first9=Ian J. |last10=Sanders |first10=Prashanthan |last11=St-Onge |first11=Marie-Pierre |date=25 May 2021 |title=Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association |journal=Circulation |volume=143 |issue=21 |pages=e984–e1010 |doi=10.1161/CIR.0000000000000973 |pmc=8493650 |pmid=33882682}}

Overall evidence is insufficient to determine the relationship between chocolate consumption and acne.{{cite journal|pmid=23210645|year=2013|last1=Bhate|first1=K|title=Epidemiology of acne vulgaris|journal=British Journal of Dermatology|volume=168|issue=3|pages=474–85|last2=Williams|first2=H. C.|doi=10.1111/bjd.12149|s2cid=24002879 |doi-access=}}{{cite journal|vauthors=Ferdowsian HR, Levin S|title=Does diet really affect acne?|journal=Skin Therapy Letter|volume=15|issue=3|pages=1–2, 5|date=March 2010|pmid=20361171|url=http://www.skintherapyletter.com/2010/15.3/1.html|access-date=8 August 2023|archive-date=21 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221185238/http://www.skintherapyletter.com/2010/15.3/1.html|url-status=live}} Various studies point not to chocolate, but to the high glycemic nature of certain foods, like sugar, corn syrup, and other simple carbohydrates, as potential causes of acne,{{cite journal|last1=Melnik|first1=BC|last2=John|first2=SM|last3=Plewig|first3=G|title=Acne: risk indicator for increased body mass index and insulin resistance|journal=Acta Dermato-Venereologica|volume=93|issue=6|pages=644–9|date=November 2013|pmid=23975508|doi=10.2340/00015555-1677|doi-access=free}}{{cite journal|vauthors=Mahmood SN, Bowe WP |title=Diet and acne update: carbohydrates emerge as the main culprit|journal=Journal of Drugs in Dermatology|volume=13|issue=4|pages=428–35|date=April 2014|pmid=24719062}} along with other possible dietary factors.{{cite journal |vauthors=Magin P, Pond D, Smith W, Watson A |title=A systematic review of the evidence for 'myths and misconceptions' in acne management: diet, face-washing and sunlight |journal=Family Practice |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=62–70 |date=February 2005 |pmid=15644386 |doi=10.1093/fampra/cmh715|doi-access=free }}

Food, including chocolate, is not typically viewed as addictive.{{cite journal |last1=Rogers |first1=Peter J |last2=Smit |first2=Hendrik J |title=Food Craving and Food 'Addiction' |journal=Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=3–14 |year=2000 |pmid=10837838 |doi=10.1016/s0091-3057(00)00197-0 |s2cid=34391710 }} Some people, however, may want or crave chocolate, leading to a self-described term, chocoholic.{{cite news|url=https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-chocoholics-survival-guide|title=The Chocoholic's Survival Guide|last=Skarnulis|first=Leanna|work=webmd.com|access-date=14 April 2013|archive-date=3 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303153322/https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-chocoholics-survival-guide|url-status=live}}

By some popular myths, chocolate is considered to be a mood enhancer, such as by increasing sex drive or stimulating cognition, but there is little scientific evidence that such effects are consistent among all chocolate consumers.{{cite journal|last1=Parker|first1=G|last2=Parker|first2=I|last3=Brotchie|first3=H|title=Mood state effects of chocolate|journal=Journal of Affective Disorders|date=June 2006|volume=92|issue=2–3|pages=149–59|pmid=16546266|doi=10.1016/j.jad.2006.02.007|s2cid=13297332}}{{cite journal | last1=Scholey | first1=Andrew | last2=Owen | first2=Lauren | title=Effects of chocolate on cognitive function and mood: a systematic review | journal=Nutrition Reviews | volume=71 | issue=10 | year=2013 | issn=0029-6643 | doi=10.1111/nure.12065 | pages=665–681|pmid=24117885| doi-access=free }} If mood improvement from eating chocolate occurs, there is not enough research to indicate whether it results from the favorable flavor or from the stimulant effects of its constituents, such as caffeine, theobromine, or their parent molecule, methylxanthine. A 2019 review reported that chocolate consumption does not improve depressive mood.{{cite journal|vauthors=Veronese N, Demurtas J, Celotto S, Caruso MG, Maggi S, Bolzetta F, Firth J, Smith L, Schofield P, Koyanagi A, Yang L, Solmi M, Stubbs B|title=Is chocolate consumption associated with health outcomes? An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses|journal=Clinical Nutrition|date=2019|volume=38|issue=3|pages=1101–08|pmid=29903472|doi=10.1016/j.clnu.2018.05.019|s2cid=49208983|url=https://arro.anglia.ac.uk/id/eprint/703068/3/Veronese_et_al_2018.docx|access-date=8 August 2023|archive-date=6 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306093708/https://arro.anglia.ac.uk/id/eprint/703068/3/Veronese_et_al_2018.docx|url-status=dead}}

Reviews support a short-term effect of lowering blood pressure by consuming cocoa products, but there is no evidence of long-term cardiovascular health benefit.{{cite journal|last1=Milliron|first1=Tara|last2=Kelsberg|first2=Gary|last3=St Anna|first3=Leilani|year=2010|title=Clinical inquiries. Does chocolate have cardiovascular benefits?|url=http://www.mdedge.com/jfponline/article/63920/cardiology/does-chocolate-have-cardiovascular-benefits|journal=The Journal of Family Practice|volume=59|issue=6|pages=351–2|pmid=20544068|access-date=8 August 2023|archive-date=31 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181231092314/https://www.mdedge.com/jfponline/article/63920/cardiology/does-chocolate-have-cardiovascular-benefits|url-status=live}}{{cite journal|last1=Ried|first1=Karin|last2=Stocks|first2=Nigel P|last3=Fakler|first3=Peter|date=April 2017|title=Effect of cocoa on blood pressure|journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews|volume=81|issue=9|pages=1121–6|doi=10.1002/14651858.CD008893.pub3|pmid=28439881|pmc=6478304}} Chocolate and cocoa are under preliminary research to determine if consumption affects the risk of certain cardiovascular diseases{{Cite journal | last1 = Buitrago-Lopez | first1 = A. | last2 = Sanderson | first2 = J. | last3 = Johnson | first3 = L. | last4 = Warnakula | first4 = S. | last5 = Wood | first5 = A. | last6 = Di Angelantonio | first6 = E. | last7 = Franco | first7 = O. H. | title = Chocolate consumption and cardiometabolic disorders: Systematic review and meta-analysis | doi = 10.1136/bmj.d4488 | journal = BMJ | volume = 343 | pages = d4488 | year = 2011 | pmid = 21875885| pmc =3163382 }} or enhances cognitive abilities.{{Cite journal|title=Intake of Flavonoid-Rich Wine, Tea, and Chocolate by Elderly Men and Women Is Associated with Better Cognitive Test Performance| journal= Journal of Nutrition|volume=139|issue=1|pages= 120–127|author=Nurk, Eha|pmid=19056649|doi=10.3945/jn.108.095182|year=2009|last2=Refsum|first2=H.|last3=Drevon|first3=C. A.|last4=Tell|first4=G. S.|last5=Nygaard|first5=H. A.|last6=Engedal|first6=K.|last7=Smith|first7=A. D.|last8=Vollset|first8=SE|last9=Refsum|first9=H|doi-access=free}} While daily consumption of cocoa flavanols (minimum dose of 200 mg) appears to benefit platelet and vascular function, there is no good evidence to indicate an effect on heart attacks or strokes.{{cite journal|last1=Arranz|first1=S|last2=Valderas-Martinez|first2=P|last3=Chiva-Blanch|first3=G|last4=Casas|first4=R|last5=Urpi-Sarda|first5=M|last6=Lamuela-Raventos|first6=RM|last7=Estruch|first7=R|title=Cardioprotective effects of cocoa: clinical evidence from randomized clinical intervention trials in humans|journal=Molecular Nutrition & Food Research|date=June 2013|volume=57|issue=6|pages=936–47|pmid=23650217|doi=10.1002/mnfr.201200595|doi-access=free}}{{cite journal |vauthors=Sudano I, Flammer AJ, Roas S, etal |title=Cocoa, blood pressure, and vascular function |journal=Curr. Hypertens. Rep. |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=279–84 |date=August 2012 |pmid=22684995 |doi=10.1007/s11906-012-0281-8 |pmc=5539137 }} Research has also shown that consuming dark chocolate does not substantially affect blood pressure.{{cite journal|pmid=28439881|year=2017|last1=Ried|first1=K|title=Effect of cocoa on blood pressure|journal=Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews|volume=4|pages=CD008893|last2=Fakler|first2=P|last3=Stocks|first3=N. P|issue=5|doi=10.1002/14651858.CD008893.pub3|pmc=6478304}}

Swiss researchers found out in 2024 that they could separate and dry the fibrous endocarp and turn it into powder then combine it with juice from the pulp that surrounds the cacao seeds creating a sweet gel that could help lessen the use of so much refined sugar, as well as utilize more of the plant.{{cite web | url=https://www.sciencealert.com/theres-a-new-way-to-make-chocolate-thats-healthier-and-less-wasteful | title=Scientists Reinvent Chocolate with Secret Ingredient – It's Healthier and Less Wasteful | date=5 June 2024 }} This healthier option was inspired by looking at the fundamentals of making chocolate. Prior, the public accepted the use of the sweet herb stevia to replace sugar in chocolate, according to a 2017 study{{cite journal | url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27649486 | pmid=27649486 | date=2017 | title=Comparison of reduced sugar high quality chocolates sweetened with stevioside and crude stevia 'green' extract | journal=Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture | volume=97 | issue=8 | pages=2346–2352 | doi=10.1002/jsfa.8045 | vauthors = Torri L, Frati A, Ninfali P, Mantegna S, Cravotto G, Morini G | bibcode=2017JSFA...97.2346T | hdl=2318/1634988| hdl-access=free }} and several such chocolate products are on the market.

Some manufacturers provide the percentage of chocolate in a finished chocolate confection as a label quoting percentage of "cocoa" or "cacao". This refers to the combined percentage of both cocoa solids and cocoa butter in the bar, not just the percentage of cocoa solids.{{cite web|first=Molly|last=Stevens|url=http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/articles/sorting-out-chocolate.aspx|title=Sorting Out Chocolate|publisher=Taunton|access-date=17 May 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080421083045/http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/articles/sorting-out-chocolate.aspx|archive-date=21 April 2008}} The Belgian AMBAO certification mark indicates that no non-cocoa vegetable fats have been used in making the chocolate.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/fodors/top/features/travel/destinations/europe/belgium/brussels/fdrs_feat_35_10.html |first1=Olivia |last1=Mollet |title=Chocolate Country|work=The New York Times|year=2006|access-date=20 May 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519150536/http://www.nytimes.com/fodors/top/features/travel/destinations/europe/belgium/brussels/fdrs_feat_35_10.html|archive-date=19 May 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.just-food.com/news/government-encourages-chocolate-producers-to-support-international-quality-label_id87337.aspx|title=BELGIUM: Government encourages chocolate producers to support international quality label|date=21 December 2000|publisher=just-food.com |first1=Karel |last1=Beckman |access-date=20 May 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519151241/http://www.just-food.com/news/government-encourages-chocolate-producers-to-support-international-quality-label_id87337.aspx|archive-date=19 May 2014}} A long-standing dispute between Britain on the one hand and Belgium and France over British use of vegetable fats in chocolate ended in 2000 with the adoption of new standards which permitted the use of up to five percent vegetable fats in clearly labelled products.{{Cite web |title=EUROPE {{!}} Euro chocolate war ends |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/764305.stm |first1=Colin |last1=Blane |date=25 May 2000 |website=BBC News |access-date=16 May 2020 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728154108/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/764305.stm |url-status=live }} This British style of chocolate has sometimes been pejoratively referred to as "vegelate".

Chocolates that are organic{{cite web|url=http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/|title=National Organic Program|access-date=7 June 2008|publisher=USDA Agricultural Marketing Service|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080401052900/http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/|archive-date=1 April 2008}} or fair trade certified{{cite web|url=http://www.fairtrade.net/334.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602085029/http://www.fairtrade.net/334.html|archive-date=2 June 2008|title=Selling Labelled Products|access-date=7 June 2008|publisher=Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International}} carry labels accordingly.

In 2007, the Chocolate Manufacturers Association in the United States, whose members include Hershey, Nestlé, and Archer Daniels Midland, lobbied the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to change the legal definition of chocolate to let them substitute partially hydrogenated vegetable oils for cocoa butter, in addition to using artificial sweeteners and milk substitutes.{{cite web |last=Bragg |first=Lynn |year=2007 |title=Letter to CMA from President |url=http://www.chocolateusa.org/pdfs/CMA-stakeholder.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070604203647/http://www.chocolateusa.org/pdfs/CMA-stakeholder.pdf |archive-date=4 June 2007 |access-date=8 June 2007}} Currently, the FDA does not allow a product to be referred to as "chocolate" if the product contains any of these ingredients.{{cite web |title=Adopt Regulations of General Applicability to all Food Standards that would Permit, within Stated Boundaries, Deviations from the Requirements of the Individual Food Standards of Identity |url=https://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/07p0085/07p-0085.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070522143217/https://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/07p0085/07p-0085.htm |archive-date=22 May 2007 |access-date=9 June 2007 |publisher=U.S. Food and Drug Administration}}{{cite web |title=2007P-0085 Appendix C Changes Allowed to Modernize Food Standards While Retaining The Basic Nature and Essential Characteristics of Standardized Food |url=http://www.typetive.com/blogimages/07p-0085AppendixC.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070604203647/http://www.typetive.com/blogimages/07p-0085AppendixC.pdf |archive-date=4 June 2007 |access-date=9 June 2007 |publisher=U.S. Food and Drug Administration}}

In the United States, some large chocolate manufacturers lobbied the federal government to permit confections containing cheaper hydrogenated vegetable oil in place of cocoa butter to be sold as "chocolate". In June 2007, in response to consumer concern about the proposal, the FDA reiterated "Cacao fat, as one of the signature characteristics of the product, will remain a principal component of standardized chocolate."{{cite web |title=FDA's Standards for High Quality Foods |url=https://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/foodstandards061807.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080224022908/https://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/foodstandards061807.html |archive-date=24 February 2008 |access-date=17 May 2008 |publisher=Food and Drug Administration}}

In the EU a product can be sold as chocolate if it contains up to 5% vegetable oil, and must be labeled as "family milk chocolate" rather than "milk chocolate" if it contains 20% milk.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/678141.stm Sweet victory for UK chocolate] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803100828/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/678141.stm|date=3 August 2017}} BBC News (15 March 2000)

According to Canadian Food and Drug Regulations, a "chocolate product" is a food product that is sourced from at least one "cocoa product" and contains at least one of the following: "chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, dark chocolate, sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate". A "cocoa product" is defined as a food product that is sourced from cocoa beans and contains "cocoa nibs, cocoa liquor, cocoa mass, unsweetened chocolate, bitter chocolate, chocolate liquor, cocoa, low-fat cocoa, cocoa powder, or low-fat cocoa powder".{{cite web |date=13 June 2017 |title=Division 4: Cocoa and Chocolate Products |url=http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/C.R.C.,_c._870/page-33.html#h-66 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713042147/http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/C.R.C.,_c._870/page-33.html#h-66 |archive-date=13 July 2017 |access-date=20 July 2017 |publisher=Government of Canada: Food and Drug Regulations (C.R.C., c. 870)}}

File:Ghirardelli Chocolate Shop Inside, SF, CA, jjron 25.03.2012.jpg]]

Chocolate, prevalent throughout the world, is a steadily growing, US$50 billion-a-year worldwide business as of 2009.{{cite web|url=http://www.chocolatesource.com/history/index.asp |title=About Chocolate- History |publisher=Chocolatesource.com |access-date=22 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227161232/http://www.chocolatesource.com/history/index.asp |archive-date=27 February 2009 }} As of 2006, Europe accounted for 45% of the world's chocolate revenue,{{cite web|url=http://www.the-infoshop.com/report/dc12377_chocolate.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716215637/http://www.the-infoshop.com/report/dc12377_chocolate.html|archive-date=16 July 2011|title=Report: The Global Market for Chocolate to 2006|publisher=The-infoshop.com|access-date=22 January 2010}} and the US spent $20 billion in 2013.{{cite news|last1=Griswold|first1=Alison|title=Are We Actually Facing a Chocolate Shortfall?|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/11/24/chocolate_crisis_fears_of_a_cocoa_shortage_may_be_overblown.html|access-date=24 November 2014|work=Slate|publisher=The Slate Group|date=24 November 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141124193759/http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/11/24/chocolate_crisis_fears_of_a_cocoa_shortage_may_be_overblown.html|archive-date=24 November 2014}} Big Chocolate is a grouping of major international chocolate companies in Europe and the US. In 2004, Mars and Hershey's alone accounted for two-thirds of US production.{{cite web|url=http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/cocoa/background.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050210075543/http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/cocoa/background.html|archive-date=10 February 2005|title=The Chocolate Industry: Abusive Child Labor and Poverty Behind the Sweetness|date=7 December 2004 |publisher=Globalexchange.org}}

As of 2007, roughly two-thirds of the world's cocoa was produced in West Africa, with 43% sourced from Ivory Coast,{{cite web |last=Ariyoshi |first=Rita |year=2007 |title=The Rarest Chocolate in the World – Surprise: It's made in Hawai'i |url=http://www.spiritofaloha.com/features/0907/rarest.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018033010/http://www.spiritofaloha.com/features/0907/rarest.html |archive-date=18 October 2007 |access-date=2 May 2007 |publisher=Spirit of Aloha}} which commonly used child labor.{{Cite news |last=Hawksley |first=Humphrey |date=13 June 2002 |title=Meeting the 'chocolate slaves' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2042474.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930010523/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2042474.stm |archive-date=30 September 2009 |access-date=22 January 2010 |work=BBC News}}McKenzie, David and Swails, Brent (19 January 2012) [http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/19/slavery-in-cocoa-fields-a-horrible-normal/ Slavery in Cocoa fields: a horrible "normal"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316122726/http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/19/slavery-in-cocoa-fields-a-horrible-normal/|date=16 March 2016}}. CNN. That year some 50 million people around the world depended on cocoa as a source of livelihood.{{cite news |last=Bridges |first=Andrew |date=7 August 2007 |title=Sides square off in chocolate fight |url=http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/08/07/money/doc46b877b718f6e292646985.txt |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090412223007/http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/08/07/money/doc46b877b718f6e292646985.txt |archive-date=12 April 2009 |access-date=17 May 2008 |newspaper=Pantagraph}} {{as of|2007}} in the UK, most chocolatiers purchase their chocolate from them, to melt, mold and package to their own design.{{Cite news |last=Dillon |first=Sheila |date=23 December 2007 |title=The Food Programme |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/foodprogramme_20071223.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109230941/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/foodprogramme_20071223.shtml |archive-date=9 November 2014 |publisher=BBC Radio 4 |format=RealAudio}} As of 2012, the Ivory Coast is the largest producer of cocoa in the world.{{cite web |title=Cocoa Market Update (2012) |url=http://worldcocoafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/cocoa-market-update-as-of-3.20.2012.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606042237/http://worldcocoafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/Cocoa-Market-Update-as-of-3.20.2012.pdf |archive-date=6 June 2014 |access-date=17 August 2014 |publisher=World Cocoa Foundation}}

The two main jobs associated with creating chocolate candy are chocolate makers and chocolatiers. Chocolate makers use harvested cocoa beans and other ingredients to produce couverture chocolate (covering). Chocolatiers use the finished couverture to make chocolate candies (bars, truffles, etc.).{{cite web |date=9 December 2006 |title=What's Noka Worth? An investigation in high-priced chocolate |url=http://www.dallasfood.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=78 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613055736/http://www.dallasfood.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=78 |archive-date=13 June 2007 |access-date=31 December 2006 |publisher=Dallas Food}}

Production costs can be decreased by reducing cocoa solids content or by substituting cocoa butter with another fat. Cocoa growers object to allowing the resulting food to be called "chocolate", due to the risk of lower demand for their crops.

{{See|List of bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturers}}

File:FD 3.jpg

Chocolate manufacturers produce a range of products from chocolate bars to fudge. Large manufacturers of chocolate products include Cadbury (the world's largest confectionery manufacturer), Ferrero, Guylian, The Hershey Company, Lindt & Sprüngli, Mars, Incorporated, Milka, Neuhaus and Suchard.

Guylian is best known for its chocolate sea shells; Cadbury for its Dairy Milk and Creme Egg. The Hershey Company, the largest chocolate manufacturer in North America, produces the Hershey Bar and Hershey's Kisses.{{cite web|first=Andrew|last=Duncan|url=http://www.booksense.com/readup/news/archive/0919hershey.jsp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060420203530/http://www.booksense.com/readup/news/archive/0919hershey.jsp|archive-date=20 April 2006|title=Hershey Kisses Potential Buyers Goodbye|publisher=Book Sense|access-date=30 June 2006}} Mars Incorporated, a large privately owned U.S. corporation, produces Mars Bar, Milky Way, M&M's, Twix, and Snickers. Lindt is known for its truffle balls and gold foil-wrapped Easter bunnies.

Food conglomerates Nestlé SA and Kraft Foods both have chocolate brands. Nestlé acquired Rowntree's in 1988 and now markets chocolates under their brand, including Smarties (a chocolate candy) and Kit Kat (a chocolate bar); Kraft Foods through its 1990 acquisition of Jacobs Suchard, now owns Milka and Suchard. In February 2010, Kraft also acquired British-based Cadbury;{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=a5dPcReemm4w&refer=uk|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120723222729/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=a5dPcReemm4w&refer=uk|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 July 2012|title=U.K. Stocks Fluctuate as Mining Shares Rally; Cadbury Declines|last=Jones|first=Sarah|date=9 April 2009|work=Bloomberg|access-date=14 April 2009}} Fry's, Trebor Basset and the fair trade brand Green & Black's also belongs to the group.

{{Main|Child labour in cocoa production}}

{{See also|Cocoa production in Ivory Coast|Cocoa production in Ghana}}

File:Chuao 003.JPG, Venezuela]]

The widespread use of children in cocoa production is controversial, not only for the concerns about child labor and exploitation, but also because according to a 2002 estimate, up to 12,000 of the 200,000 children then working in the Ivory Coast cocoa industry{{cite news | last= Hawksley | first= Humphrey | url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1311982.stm | title= Ivory Coast accuses chocolate companies | work= BBC News | date= 4 May 2001 | access-date= 4 August 2010 | url-status= live | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090114115945/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1311982.stm | archive-date= 14 January 2009 | df= dmy-all }} may have been victims of trafficking or slavery.{{cite news |url=http://fortune.com/big-chocolate-child-labor/ |title=Inside Big Chocolate's Child Labor Problem |last=O'Keefe |first=Brian |date=1 March 2016 |newspaper=Fortune |access-date=7 January 2018 |quote=For a decade and a half, the big chocolate makers have promised to end child labor in their industry – and have spent tens of millions of dollars in the effort. But as of the latest estimate, 2.1 million West African children still do the dangerous and physically taxing work of harvesting cocoa. What will it take to fix the problem? |archive-date=12 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190112042758/http://fortune.com/big-chocolate-child-labor/ |url-status=dead }} Most attention on this subject has focused on West Africa, which collectively supplies 69 percent of the world's cocoa,{{cite web|url=http://www.worldcocoafoundation.org/learn-about-cocoa/documents/CocoaMarketUpdateasof5.18.10.pdf |title=Cocoa Market Update |publisher=World Cocoa Foundation |date=May 2010 |access-date=11 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111013152355/http://www.worldcocoafoundation.org/learn-about-cocoa/documents/CocoaMarketUpdateasof5.18.10.pdf |archive-date=13 October 2011 }} and the Ivory Coast in particular, which supplies 35 percent of the world's cocoa. Thirty percent of children under age 15 in sub-Saharan Africa are child laborers, mostly in agricultural activities including cocoa farming.{{cite web | title = Rooting out child labour from cocoa farms: Paper No. 4 Child labour monitoring – A partnership of communities and government | publisher = International Labour Organization | year = 2007 | url = http://www.ilo.org/ipecinfo/product/download.do;jsessionid=0a038009cee0ccecc1079524dd2be22e7bc286da8c5.hkzFngTDp6WImQuUaNaLa3D3lN4K-xaIah8S-xyIn3uKmAiN-AnwbQbxaNvzaAmI-huKa30xgx95fjWTa3eIpkzFngTDp6WImQuxbN8Nbh4SahiK8OexhOaOgzX9i4j38QfznA5Pp7ftolbGmkTy?type=document&id=6447 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160402090558/http://www.ilo.org/ipecinfo/product/download.do;jsessionid=0a038009cee0ccecc1079524dd2be22e7bc286da8c5.hkzFngTDp6WImQuUaNaLa3D3lN4K-xaIah8S-xyIn3uKmAiN-AnwbQbxaNvzaAmI-huKa30xgx95fjWTa3eIpkzFngTDp6WImQuxbN8Nbh4SahiK8OexhOaOgzX9i4j38QfznA5Pp7ftolbGmkTy?type=document&id=6447 | archive-date = 2 April 2016 | df = dmy-all }} Major chocolate producers, such as Nestlé, buy cocoa at commodities exchanges where Ivorian cocoa is mixed with other cocoa.{{cite web|title=The cocoa market: A background study |publisher=Oxfam |year=2002 |url=http://www.maketradefair.com/en/assets/english/CocoaStudy.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910131409/https://www.maketradefair.com/en/assets/english/CocoaStudy.pdf |archive-date=10 September 2008 }}

As of 2017, approximately 2.1 million children in Ghana and Ivory Coast were involved in farming cocoa, carrying heavy loads, clearing forests, and being exposed to pesticides.{{cite news |author1=Kieran Guilbert |date=12 June 2017 |title=Falling cocoa prices threaten child labor spike in Ghana, Ivory Coast |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-westafrica-cocoa-children/falling-cocoa-prices-threaten-child-labor-spike-in-ghana-ivory-coast-idUSKBN1931ZQ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009172050/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-westafrica-cocoa-children/falling-cocoa-prices-threaten-child-labor-spike-in-ghana-ivory-coast-idUSKBN1931ZQ |archive-date=9 October 2021 |access-date=7 January 2019 |work=Reuters}} According to the former secretary-general of the Alliance of Cocoa Producing Countries: "I think child labor cannot be just the responsibility of industry to solve. I think it's the proverbial all-hands-on-deck: government, civil society, the private sector. And there, you need leadership." Reported in 2018, a 3-year pilot program – conducted by Nestlé with 26,000 farmers mostly located in Ivory Coast – observed a 51% decrease in the number of children doing hazardous jobs in cocoa farming.{{cite web |author1=Oliver Balch |date=20 June 2018 |title=Child labour: the true cost of chocolate production |url=https://www.raconteur.net/business-innovation/child-labour-cocoa-production |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727060501/https://www.raconteur.net/business-innovation/child-labour-cocoa-production |archive-date=27 July 2020 |access-date=7 January 2019 |publisher=Raconteur}} The US Department of Labor formed the Child Labor Cocoa Coordinating Group as a public-private partnership with the governments of Ghana and Ivory Coast to address child labor practices in the cocoa industry.{{cite web |title=Child Labor in the Production of Cocoa |url=https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/child-labor-cocoa |publisher=Bureau of International Labor Affairs, United States Department of Labor, Washington, DC |access-date=7 January 2019 |date=2018 |archive-date=19 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219050405/https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/child-labor-cocoa |url-status=live }} The International Cocoa Initiative involving major cocoa manufacturers established the Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System intended to monitor thousands of farms in Ghana and Ivory Coast for child labor conditions, but the program reached less than 20% of the child laborers.{{cite web |url=https://newfoodeconomy.org/chocolate-farmers-ivory-coast-ghana/ |title=Cocoa has a poverty problem. You can help by eating more dark chocolate |date=7 July 2018 |publisher=New Food Economy |access-date=7 July 2018 |archive-date=23 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191023110138/https://newfoodeconomy.org/chocolate-farmers-ivory-coast-ghana/ |url-status=dead }} Despite these efforts, goals to reduce child labor in West Africa by 70% before 2020 are frustrated by persistent poverty, absence of schools, expansion of cocoa farmland, and increased demand for cocoa.{{cite web |title=2018 Cocoa Barometer Report |url=http://www.cocoabarometer.org/Cocoa_Barometer/News/Entries/2018/4/19_2018_Cocoa_Barometer_Released.html |publisher=The Cocoa Barometer |access-date=8 January 2019 |date=19 April 2018 |archive-date=7 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107024021/http://cocoabarometer.org/Cocoa_Barometer/News/Entries/2018/4/19_2018_Cocoa_Barometer_Released.html |url-status=live }}

In April 2018, the Cocoa Barometer report stated: "Not a single company or government is anywhere near reaching the sector-wide objective of the elimination of child labor, and not even near their commitments of a 70% reduction of child labor by 2020". They cited persistent poverty, the absence of schools, increasing world cocoa demand, more intensive farming of cocoa, and continued exploitation of child labor.

{{Main|Fair trade cocoa}}

In the 2000s, some chocolate producers began to engage in fair trade initiatives, to address concerns about the marginalization of cocoa laborers in developing countries. Traditionally, Africa and other developing countries received low prices for their exported commodities such as cocoa, which caused poverty to abound. Fairtrade seeks to establish a system of direct trade from developing countries to counteract this system.{{cite journal | last1 = Brown | first1 = Michael Barratt | year = 2007 | title = 'Fair Trade' with Africa | journal = Review of African Political Economy | volume = 34 | issue = 112| pages = 267–77 | doi=10.1080/03056240701449653 |jstor=20406397 | s2cid = 219715395 | hdl = 10.1080/03056240701449653 | hdl-access = free }} One solution for fair labor practices is for farmers to become part of an agricultural cooperative. Cooperatives pay farmers a fair price for their cocoa so farmers have enough money for food, clothes, and school fees.{{cite journal | last1 = Goodman | first1 = Michael K | year = 2004 | title = Reading fairtrade: political ecological imaginary and the moral economy of fairtrade foods | journal = Political Geography | volume = 23 | issue = 7| pages = 891–915 | doi=10.1016/j.polgeo.2004.05.013}} One of the main tenets of fair trade is that farmers receive a fair price, but this does not mean that the larger amount of money paid for fair trade cocoa goes directly to the farmers. The effectiveness of fair trade has been questioned. In a 2014 article, The Economist stated that workers on fair trade farms have a lower standard of living than on similar farms outside the fair trade system{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2014/05/agriculture-ethiopia-and-uganda?fsrc=scn/fb/wl/bl/notsofairtrade|access-date=3 July 2014|title=Agriculture in Ethiopia and Uganda: Not so fair trade|newspaper=The Economist|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714192341/http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2014/05/agriculture-ethiopia-and-uganda?fsrc=scn%2Ffb%2Fwl%2Fbl%2Fnotsofairtrade|archive-date=14 July 2014}} based on a study of tea and coffee farmers in Uganda and Ethiopia.{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24858301 | jstor=24858301 | title=Fairtrade cooperatives in Ethiopia and Uganda: Uncensored | journal=Review of African Political Economy | date=2014 | volume=41 | issue=143 | pages=S115–S127 | vauthors = Cramera C, Johnstonb D, Oyaa C, Senderb J }}

File:Cadbury-Dairy-Milk-Caramel-Bar.jpg

{{Main|Chocolate bar}}Chocolate is sold in chocolate bars, which come in dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate varieties. Some bars that are mostly chocolate have other ingredients blended into the chocolate, such as nuts, raisins, or crisped rice. Chocolate is used as an ingredient in a huge variety of bars, which typically contain various confectionary ingredients (e.g., nougat, wafers, caramel, nuts, etc.) which are coated in chocolate.

File:Blackout cake.jpg

Chocolate is used as a flavoring product in many desserts, such as chocolate cakes, chocolate brownies, chocolate mousse and chocolate chip cookies. Numerous types of candy and snacks contain chocolate, either as a filling (e.g., M&M's) or as a coating (e.g., chocolate-coated raisins or chocolate-coated peanuts).

Some non-alcoholic beverages contain chocolate, such as chocolate milk, hot chocolate, chocolate milkshakes and tejate. Some alcoholic liqueurs are flavored with chocolate, such as chocolate liqueur and crème de cacao. Chocolate is a popular flavor of ice cream and pudding, and chocolate sauce is a commonly added as a topping on ice cream sundaes. The caffè mocha is an espresso beverage containing chocolate.

The experience of eating chocolate varies with the ingredients used. More sugary chocolates have a flavor that is more immediately apparent, while chocolates with higher cocoa percentages have flavors that take longer to be perceived but stay on the palate for longer. These chocolates with more cocoa are increasingly bitter.{{Sfnp|Segnit|2010|p=[https://archive.org/details/flavourthesaurus0000segn/page/12/mode/2up 13]}}

Chocolate is perceived to be different things at different times, including a sweet treat, a luxury product, a consumer good and a mood enhancer,{{Sfnp|Hackenesch|2017|p=18}} the latter reputation in part driven by marketing.{{Sfnp|Martin|Sampeck|2021}} Chocolate is a popular metaphor for the black racial category.{{Sfnp|Hackenesch|2017|p=10}} It has connotations of transgression and sexuality{{Sfnp|Hackenesch|2017|p=15}}{{Sfnp|Scarpellini|2016|p=125}} and is gendered as feminine.{{Sfnp|Mathias|2022|p=530}} In the US there is a cultural practice of women consuming chocolate in secret; alone and with other women.{{Sfnp|McCabe|de Waal Malefyt|2020|p=28}} Children use chocolate as a euphemism for feces.{{Sfnp|Moore|2005|p=53}} Chocolate is popularly understood to have "exotic" origins,{{Sfnp|Martin|Sampeck|2021|pp=48–49}} In China, chocolate is considered "heaty", and avoided in hot weather.{{Sfnp|Allen|2010|p=24}}File:Elmer Valentine boxed chocolates.jpg]]

Chocolate is associated with festivals such as Easter, when molded chocolate rabbits and eggs are traditionally given in Christian communities, and Hanukkah, when chocolate coins are given in Jewish communities. Chocolate hearts and chocolate in heart-shaped boxes are popular on Valentine's Day and are often presented along with flowers and a greeting card{{cite book |title=Guinness World Records 2017 |date=8 September 2016 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hxAyDQAAQBAJ&dq=cadbury+chocolate+boxes+1868&pg=PA90 |publisher=Guinness World Records |page=90 |isbn=978-1-910561-34-8 |quote=Richard Cadbury, eldest son of John Cadbury who founded the now iconic brand, was the first chocolate-maker to commercialize the association between confectionery and romance, producing a heart-shaped box of chocolates for Valentine's Day in 1868 |access-date=18 July 2022 |archive-date=10 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110231442/https://books.google.com/books?id=hxAyDQAAQBAJ&dq=cadbury+chocolate+boxes+1868&pg=PA90 |url-status=live }} Boxes of filled chocolates quickly became associated with the holiday. Chocolate is an acceptable gift on other holidays and on occasions such as birthdays. Many confectioners make holiday-specific chocolate candies. Chocolate Easter eggs or rabbits and Santa Claus figures are two examples. Such confections can be solid, hollow, or filled with sweets or fondant.

In 1964, Roald Dahl published a children's novel titled Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The novel centers on a poor boy named Charlie Bucket who takes a tour through the greatest chocolate factory in the world, owned by the eccentric Willy Wonka.{{cite news |title=Charlie and the Chocolate Factory |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Charlie-and-the-Chocolate-Factory-by-Dahl |access-date=30 September 2021 |work=Britannica |quote=The five children are greeted outside the factory by the eccentric visionary Willy Wonka. |archive-date=11 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011082110/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Charlie-and-the-Chocolate-Factory-by-Dahl |url-status=live }} Two film adaptations of the novel were produced: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). A third adaptation, an origin prequel film titled Wonka, was released in 2023.{{cite news |title=Timothée Chalamet to Play Young Willy Wonka in Warner Bros. Movie |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/timothee-chalamet-willy-wonka-movie-1234980218/ |access-date=27 June 2021 |work=Variety |archive-date=24 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524151500/https://variety.com/2021/film/news/timothee-chalamet-willy-wonka-movie-1234980218/ |url-status=live }} Chocolat, a 1999 novel by Joanne Harris, was adapted for film in Chocolat which was released a year later.{{cite web|title=Chocolat (2000)|website=BBFC|access-date=18 July 2021|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/chocolat-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zmtyxntg|archive-date=18 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718073245/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/chocolat-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zmtyxntg|url-status=live}}

Some artists have utilized chocolate in their art; Dieter Roth was influential in this beginning with his works in the 1960s casting human and animal figures in chocolate, which used the chocolate's inevitable decay to comment on contemporary attitudes towards the permanence of museum displays. Other works have played on the audience's ability to consume displayed chocolate, encouraged in Sonja Alhäuser's Exhibition Basics (2001) and painfully disallowed in Edward Ruscha's Chocolate Room (1970). In the 1980s and 90s, performance artists Karen Finley and Janine Antoni used chocolate's cultural popular associations of excrement and consumption, and desirability respectively to comment on the status of women in society.{{Cite book |last=Jandl |first=Stephanie S |title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-19-931339-6 |editor-last=Goldstein |editor-first=Darra |editor-link=Darra Goldstein |location= |pages=28–29 |chapter=Art}}

Mint chocolate (or chocolate mint) is a popular flavor of chocolate, made by adding a mint flavoring, such as peppermint, spearmint, or crème de menthe, to chocolate. Mint chocolate can be found in a wide variety of confectionery items, such as candy, mints, cookies, mint chocolate chip ice cream, hot chocolate, and others. In addition, it is marketed in a non-edible format as cosmetics. Depending widely on the ingredients and the process used, mint chocolate can give off a very distinctive mint fragrance. The chocolate component can be milk chocolate, regular dark chocolate, or white chocolate; due to this, mint chocolate has no one specific flavour, and so each chocolate-plus-flavor combination can be unique. The U.S. National Confectioners Association lists February 19 as "Chocolate Mint Day".{{cite web|url=http://www.candyusa.com/AllAboutCandy/content.cfm?ItemNumber=987&navItemNumber=4911|title=Candy Holidays|publisher=National Confectioners Association|access-date=1 December 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141202102118/http://www.candyusa.com/AllAboutCandy/content.cfm?ItemNumber=987&navItemNumber=4911|archive-date=2 December 2014}}

{{Portal|Food|Nutrition|Mesoamerica}}

{{Main|Outline of chocolate}}

• Candy making
• Glossary of chocolate terms
• List of chocolate-covered foods
• List of chocolate beverages
• List of chocolate companies

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

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{{refend}}

{{refbegin}}

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• {{cite journal |last1=Dillinger |first1=Teresa L. |last2=Barriga |first2=Patricia |last3=Escárcega |first3=Sylvia |last4=Jimenez |first4=Martha |last5=Lowe |first5=Diana Salazar |last6=Grivetti |first6=Louis E. |date=2000-08-01 |title=Food of the Gods: Cure for Humanity? A Cultural History of the Medicinal and Ritual Use of Chocolate |journal=The Journal of Nutrition |volume=130 |issue=8 |pages=2057S–2072S |doi=10.1093/jn/130.8.2057S |issn=0022-3166 |pmid=10917925 |ref={{harvid|Dillinger et al.|2000}} |doi-access=free}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Kaufman |first1=Terrence |last2=Justeson |first2=John |date=2007 |title=The history of the word for cacao in Ancient Mesoamerica |journal=Ancient Mesoamerica |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=193–237 |doi=10.1017/S0956536107000211}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Lanaud |first1=Claire |last2=Vignes |first2=Hélène |last3=Utge |first3=José |last4=Valette |first4=Gilles |last5=Rhoné |first5=Bénédicte |last6=Garcia Caputi |first6=Mariella |last7=Angarita Nieto |first7=Natalia Sofía |last8=Fouet |first8=Olivier |last9=Gaikwad |first9=Nilesh |last10=Zarrillo |first10=Sonia |last11=Powis |first11=Terry G. |last12=Cyphers |first12=Ann |last13=Valdez |first13=Francisco |last14=Olivera Nunez |first14=S. Quirino |last15=Speller |first15=Camilla |date=2024-03-07 |title=A revisited history of cacao domestication in pre-Columbian times revealed by archaeogenomic approaches |url= |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=14 |issue=1 |page=2972 |bibcode=2024NatSR..14.2972L |doi=10.1038/s41598-024-53010-6 |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=10920634 |pmid=38453955 |ref={{harvid|Lanaud et al.|2024}} |doi-access=free}}
• {{cite journal |last=Mathias |first=Manon |date=December 1, 2022 |title=Chocolate and the French novel: modernity, language, nature |journal=Modern & Contemporary France |volume=31 |issue=4 |pages=529–544 |doi=10.1080/09639489.2022.2134324|doi-access=free }}
• {{cite journal |last1=Norton |first1=Marcy |title=Conquests of Chocolate |journal=OAH Magazine of History |date=April 2004 |volume=18 |issue=3 |page=16 |doi=10.1093/maghis/18.3.14 |jstor=25163677}}

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• {{Cite web |last1=Martin |first1=Carla D |last2=Sampeck |first2=Kathryn |date=January 8, 2021 |title=From Cocoa Farms to Candy Chutes |url=https://www.anthropology-news.org/articles/from-cocoa-farms-to-candy-chutes/ |access-date=September 14, 2024 |website=Anthropology News}}

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• Norton, Marcy. Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures: A History of Tobacco and Chocolate in the Atlantic World (Cornell UP, 2008)
• {{Cite book|last=Off|first=Carol|author-link=Carol Off|title=Bitter Chocolate: The Dark Side of the World's Most Seductive Sweet|publisher=The New Press|year=2008|isbn=978-1-59558-330-7|url=https://archive.org/details/bitterchocolated00offc}}
• {{Cite book |last=Presilla |first=Maricel |author-link=Maricel Presilla |title=The Oxford encyclopedia of food and drink in America, Volume 1 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004 |isbn=0-19-517551-4 |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Andrew F |location=New York |chapter=Chocolate |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordencycloped0000unse_c7e6}}
• Ryan, Órla (2011). Chocolate Nations: Living and Dying for Cocoa in West Africa. Zed Books. {{ISBN|978-1-84813-005-0}}
• Young, Allen M. (2007). The Chocolate Tree: A Natural History of Cacao (Rev. and expanded ed.). University Press of Florida. {{ISBN|978-0-8130-3044-9}}

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