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[ F O O D S A F E T Y & Q U A L I T Y ]
Chocolate Quality Testing
C
hocolate appears in many
forms and as an ingredi-
ent in many confectionery
and non-confectionary prod-
ucts. The December 2010 issue
of Food Technology contains an
overview of the chocolate con-
fectionery market. This article
focuses on the production and
quality testing of chocolate.
Chocolate Production
Cacao trees produce pods
throughout the year, but large
harvests occur twice annually.
Workers harvest the pods
by hand, hack open the shells,
scoop out the pulp and seeds,
and discard the husks. The
pulp and seeds are placed into
boxes or piles, covered with
banana leaves, and left to fer-
ment for up to 9 days, during
which avor and aroma com-
pounds are formed. The seeds
are then dried in the sun or in
dryers for about a week, packed
into burlap bags, and shipped
to manufacturing plants. There
they are mechanically cleaned
to remove dried pulp and debris,
sorted, and roasted to release
the avor and aroma compounds.
The roasting also deepens the
brown color of the beans.
The beans are then lightly
crushed, and the husks are blown
away in a process called win-
nowing, leaving dark chips called
nibs whose cells contain about
53% fat (cocoa butter) and 47%
solids. The nibs are then crushed
or ground in mills that generate
enough friction and heat to liq-
uefy the nibs into a thick paste
called chocolate liquor. Some of
the chocolate liquor is placed in
a hydraulic press that squeezes
out the cocoa butter, and the
remaining solid cocoa is pul-
verized into cocoa powder.
The chocolate liquor can also
be poured into molds to harden
into unsweetened chocolate,
which contains 100% choco-
late liquor. To produce dark,
semisweet, and bittersweet
chocolates, nibs are ground
with sugar to reduce the par-
ticle size. The resulting paste is
then kneaded in a process called
conching to further smooth the
texture. Aerating during con-
ching creates a well-rounded
avor. The conched chocolate
is then tempered by repeatedly
cooling and heating it to provide
a glossy sheen and ensure that
the chocolate will melt properly.
The tempered chocolate can be
molded or poured over avored
centers (enrobing) or used as
a lling in other confections.
To make baking choco-
late and candy bars, chocolate
liquor is further processed
with sugar and other ingredi-
ents. Chocolates can vary in
amounts of cocoa particles,
cocoa butter, sugar, and other
ingredients such as emulsi-
ers and dairy products.
The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has estab-
lished standards of identity for
cacao-derived products. Milk
chocolate contains cream or
other dairy products and sugar
and must contain at least 10%
chocolate liquor. Dark, bitter-
sweet, or semisweet chocolate
must contain at least 35% choco-
late liquor but generally contains
50%55% with the rest being
sugar. High-percentage choc-
olates contain even more
chocolate liquor and conse-
quently more cocoa particles
and cocoa butter than regular
chocolate. Couverture, used for
coating, contains more cocoa
butter so that it is more free-
owing when melted. White
chocolate contains no choco-
late liquor but instead consists
of cocoa butter, sugar, dairy
products, and avorings; it must
contain at least 20% cocoa but-
ter and no more than 55% sugar.
Title 21, Part 163, of the Code
of Federal Regulations details
Chocolate has many forms and is an ingredient
in many products.
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the FDAs requirements for standard-
ized cacao products, specically
cacao nibs, chocolate liquor, break-
fast cocoa, cocoa, low-fat cocoa,
cocoa with dioctyl sodium sulfos-
uccinate for manufacturing, sweet
chocolate, white chocolate, milk
chocolate, buttermilk chocolate, skim
milk chocolate, mixed dairy product
chocolates, sweet cocoa and veg-
etable fat coating, sweet chocolate
and vegetable fat coating, and milk
chocolate and vegetable fat coating.
Quality Testing
Penn State University has a Cocoa,
Chocolate, and Confectionery
Research Group, which conducts
pertinent collaborative research
on cocoa, chocolate, and confec-
tionery science and technology
and presents seminars and short
courses. Gregory Ziegler, Professor
of Food Science at Penn State, who
specializes in research on the inu-
ence of processing on chocolate
quality, said that quality tests are
conducted on chocolate at vari-
ous stages of manufacture.
To determine whether beans have
been properly fermented, inspec-
tors conduct a cut test. A number of
fermented beans are cut in half and
the fraction that is off color is noted.
The color of the beans changes
during fermentation; properly fer-
mented beans are brown while
purple and slate-colored beans are
considered defects. A small sample
of beans may also be cleaned and
roasted to make chocolate liquor,
which is then taste-tested. If the
taste is off, the roasting conditions
can be adjusted. The beans might
also be checked for moisture con-
tent by Karl Fischer titration or by
infrared or microwave methods.
Other important quality tests
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Chocolate Quality Testing continued...
include determination of fat con-
tent in seeds, nibs, and liquor.
The fat content in seeds needs
to be known to be able to formu-
late products correctly, Ziegler
said, and knowledge of the mois-
ture content is needed to make
sure the beans were roasted
correctly. Among the stan-
dard quality tests for chocolate
liquor and nished chocolate
are moisture content, again gen-
erally by Karl Fischer titration.
Solid fat content may also be
conducted since it is a determi-
nant of cocoa butter hardness,
a formulation consideration.
There is also interest in
determining the free fatty acid
content of beans and liquor,
Ziegler said, since there have
been concerns about the quality
of beans from West Africa. The
free fatty acid content is gener-
ally determined by wet chemistry
techniques at this point, he
added, but it would be interesting
to have faster analytical tech-
niques such as chromatographic
methods. Flavor is important, and
there is no substitute for sen-
sory evaluation panels, Ziegler
said, adding that the electronic
nosesuch as that manufac-
tured by Alpha-MOS (www.
alpha-mos.com)has been
shown to be of use in evaluat-
ing chocolate aroma but may
not be being used routinely.
For chocolate liquor and
nished chocolate, the par-
ticle size and distribution are
important because they are
related to viscosity and yield
value. For chocolate liquor, how
much free fat is liberated from
seed cells is related to cost.
In the nal product, the par-
ticle size is related to viscosity
and yield value in the molten
state. For the nished prod-
uct, temper is important. This is
determined by a temper meter,
which uses thermal analysis to
determine whether the choco-
late has achieved the proper
cocoa butter crystals. Among
the available temper meters are
the Model 530 Chocolate Temper
Meter from Tricor Systems Inc.
(www.tricor-systems.com) and
the MultiTherm TC combined
cocoa butter measuring system
and temper meter from Buhler
(www.buhlergroup.com). The
latter provides a cooling curve,
from which the analyst can tell
what form of crystallization has
occurred and whether the sam-
ple has been properly tempered.
Gloss is also important and is
determined using a gloss meter.
Blommer Chocolate Co.
(www.blommer.com) is the larg-
est roaster of cocoa beans in
North America. The company
sells bulk chocolate, chocolate
liquor, cocoa butter, and cocoa
powder as well as all kinds of
chocolate products: milk choc-
olate, semisweet chocolate,
high-cocoa-mass chocolate,
chocolate chips, confectionery
coatings, color coatings, panned
products, and products mar-
keted as organic, sugar-free,
kosher, kosher pareve, kosher
for Passover, traceable, Fair
Trade, and Rainforest Alliance.
Marlene Stauffer, Director of
Quality and Regulatory, said
that licensed graders at the
port of entry cut open a sam-
ple of beans to inspect the nibs
for evidence of mold and infes-
tation and to determine by
color whether the beans have
been properly fermented.
At the processing plant, tests
conducted on chocolate liquor
include moisture content, fat
content, free fatty acid content,
particle size, viscosity, color,
and avor. Instruments used for
these tests include micrometers,
particle size analyzers, colorim-
eters, viscometers, titrators, and
fat analyzers. The company also
monitors for heavy metals, pesti-
cides, and extraneous material.
The temper of the nal choc-
olate is important, Stauffer said,
as manufacturers want the prod-
uct to be tempered properly,
have a good snap when broken,
and look smooth without a lot of
aeration or honeycombing. The
company uses experienced oper-
ators, temper meters, and visual
inspection to determine whether
this has been accomplished.
Roasting is the kill step in
cocoa bean processing, she said,
killing pathogens (particularly
Salmonella), and microbiologi-
cal testing is conducted on the
The color of the beans changes during fermentation; properly fermented beans
are brown while purple and slate-colored beans are considered defects.
nal chocolate. Flavor testing is abso-
lutely critical in roasting and helps
determine the degree of roast, Stauffer
said. Every operator is trained in sen-
sory testing, and they look for off-notes
right after roasting and after choco-
late liquor grinding. Sensory panels
check all nal chocolate products.
Another nal test of deposited
products is determining the count
per pound. Chocolate chips for bak-
ing are typically sized for grocery
store sales as 1,000 count per pound,
but the company also provides counts
of 2,000, 4,000, and 10,000, depend-
ing on what its customers in the
baking, confectionery, dairy, and
functional foods industries want.
Challenges Ahead & Research Needed
Stauffer said that she would like to see
rapid methods for determining fat and
moisture content and automatic titra-
tions to determine fat quality. Current
instruments require extensive calibra-
tion to maintain, she said, so it would
be great to have rapid methods for fat
and moisture determinations as well as
rapid microbiological methods. Testing
for yeast and mold takes ve days, but
the product needs to be out the door
faster, she said. Blommer outsources
microbiological and chemical test-
ing to independent laboratories. Most
labs provide a 10-day turnaround for
chemical testing, but two days is pref-
erable. Sugar testing can take up to
eight days. The alternative is to have
testing equipment in house and have
technicians do the testing, she added,
but thats an additional expense.
Stauffer pointed out that there is
a need for standardization of meth-
ods for testing chocolate. Temper,
she said, is always difcult to mea-
sure quickly and constantly, viscosity
measurements vary among techni-
cians and plants, and the equipment
Chocolate is created from the pulp and seeds of pods from cacao trees.
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Chocolate Quality Testing continued...
can be difcult to calibrate.Particle-size
measuring systems can also show varia-
tion.The main issue, she said, is that there is
not always a standard method for the choco-
late industry to follow. Companies around the
world have their own ways of measuring and
their own types of equipment. As a result,
Blommer uses four different fat analyzers.
Ziegler said that nding a way to visualize
the fat crystal network in chocolate, including
the size and distribution, could provide more
information about bloom stabilityresis-
tance to oil and moisture migrationand
lead to a way to predict bloom in chocolate
and chocolate-lled confections. He said
that Penn State researchers are studying
chocolate structure and its effect on sensory
quality. There is also a correlation between
mouthfeel and avor, and changing the vis-
cosity has dramatic effects on mouthfeel.
Besides particle size, there is also interest
in studying the shape of all the particles in
chocolate, not only the cocoa but also the
sugar and milk solids, he said. If products with
the same particle size dont behave quite the
same, some other factor must be involved. FT
Neil H. Mermelstein, a Fellow of IFT, is Editor
Emeritus of Food Technology
[email protected]
Organizations Related to Chocolate
National Confectioners Association (www.candyusa.com).
Founded in 1884, NCA is a trade association of confectionery compa-
nies. Its Chocolate Council was founded in 2008 by member companies
that process cocoa and make chocolate. It focuses on educating the
public about chocolate. NCAs Sweets & Snacks Expo will be held May
810, 2012, in Chicago, Ill.
American Association of Candy Technologists (www.aactcandy.
org). AACT is a professional organization of individual technologists,
operations personnel, educators, students, business staff, and others
dedicated to the advancement of the confectionery industry. AACTs
2012 National AACT Technical Seminar will be held October 13, 2012,
in Lincolnshire, Ill.
PMCA (www.pmca.com). Founded in 1907 as the Pennsylvania
Manufacturing Confectioners Association, PMCA is a trade associa-
tion of confectionery manufacturers and companies in related
industries. Its 66th Annual Production Conference will be held April
30May 2, 2012, in Hershey, Pa. PMCAs Research Committee directs
basic and applied research in the science of chocolate and confection-
ery at several universities. PMCA also presents short courses in
confectionery technology.
Retail Confectioners International (www.retailconfectioners.org).
Founded in 1917, RCI is a trade association of chocolate makers, con-
fectioners, and industry suppliers. It provides a forum for
confectioners to meet, network, share ideas, solve mutual problems,
and develop their candy-making and entrepreneurial skills. It presents
short courses for retailers, including Chocolate Boot Camp. RCIs
2012 Annual Convention & Industry Exposition will be held June 1115,
2012, in San Francisco, Calif.
International Confectionery Association (www.international-con-
fectionery.com). ICA, formerly the International Ofce of Cocoa,
Chocolate and Sugar Confectionery, is an organization of chocolate
and confectionery manufacturers and suppliers of ingredients,
machinery, packaging materials, and services to the industry. It facili-
tates, coordinates, and communicates international scientic,
regulatory, and public affairs information while promoting and repre-
senting the interests of the global confectionery industry.
World Cocoa Foundation (www.worldcocoafoundation.org). WCF
is an organization of manufacturers, processors, supply chain manag-
ers, ports, and allied industries and trade associations that works to
promote sustainable cocoa production and improve the well-being of
cocoa farmers through economic and social development and environ-
mental stewardship.