24 Sep 2009 --- Barry Callebaut, the world’s leading manufacturer of high quality cocoa and chocolate products, responds to the increasing demand for healthy chocolate by preserving the natural ingredients of their chocolate. This brings us back to the beginning of the chocolate process: all the goodness that naturally comes out of the cocoa bean. Some secret powers of this mysterious cocoa bean will be unveiled at the FIE Frankfurt, from November 17 till November 19, at the Barry Callebaut stand (Hall 8.0 – Booth 8E5).

For Barry Callebaut, it is a challenge to preserve the natural ingredients of chocolate, rather than replace them with artificial substitutes or additives. Chocolate in general already has some intrinsic health benefits: fibers are naturally present, it contains essential minerals (iron and magnesium, calcium in milk chocolate) and vitamins (D, B12 in milk chocolate), it only contains a limited amount of cholesterol and only a very small amount of trans fatty acids and it also has a low glycemic index.

Developing healthy chocolate means going back to the beginning of the process: the cocoa bean itself. The main goal is to preserve what is naturally present in the cocoa bean.

Preserving all the goodness from the cocoa bean

A fully-grown cocoa bean contains more than 200 substances that can promote good health. This means that fundamental research in preserving these health benefits starts at the cocoa plantations. Due to its presence in the origin countries, Barry Callebaut can investigate together with the cocoa farmers, ways of growing, harvesting and treating the beans. Every step in the production process is important, also the roasting, mixing and conching.

As an example: one group of these beneficial substances are the cocoa flavanols. Scientific research has shown that these powerful antioxidants may have a positive effect on both body and mind. ACTICOA cocoa and chocolate products are made via a balanced chocolate making process during which the cocoa flavanols, naturally part of the cocoa bean, are retained to a maximum, where in the traditional production process they are partially lost. ACTICOA chocolate contains one of the highest cocoa flavanol levels in the world. For more information: www.acticoa.com.

Improving nutritional profiles

With respect to the WHO recommendations and the new upcoming EU proposal on the nutrient food profiles, Barry Callebaut is optimizing together with its customers their end products containing chocolate: e.g. reducing the sugar and/or saturated fat content to be at least as good as the reference already on the market.

Other important topics at the FIE

* Exquisite Origin chocolates in the spotlight: Mexico, Malaysia, Togo, Congo
* Barry Callebaut is continuously investing in the optimization of its organic and fair trade chocolate
* Croquoa texture : An amazing cocoa and sugar based new experience