Suchergebnisse

[EN] Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) and its derivatives are appreciated for their aroma, color, and healthy properties, and are commodities of high economic value worldwide. Wide ranges of conventional methods have been used for years to guarantee cocoa quality. Recently, however, demand for global cocoa and the requirements of sensory, functional, and safety cocoa attributes have changed. On the one hand, society and health authorities are increasingly demanding new more accurate quality control tests, including not only the analysis of physicochemical and sensory parameters, but also determinations of functional compounds and contaminants (some of which come in trace quantities). On the other hand, increased production forces industries to seek quality control techniques based on fast, nondestructive online methods. Finally, an increase in global cocoa demand and a consequent rise in prices can lead to future cases of fraud. For this reason, new analytes, technologies, and ways to analyze data are being researched, developed, and implemented into research or quality laboratories to control cocoa quality and authenticity. The main advances made in destructive techniques focus on developing new and more sensitive methods such as chromatographic analysis to detect metabolites and contaminants in trace quantities. These methods are used to assess cocoa quality; study new functional properties; control cocoa authenticity; or detect frequent emerging frauds. Regarding nondestructive methods, spectroscopy is the most explored technique, which is conducted within the near infrared range, and also within the medium infrared range to a lesser extent. It is applied mainly in the postharvest stage of cocoa beans to analyze different biochemical parameters or to assess the authenticity of cocoa and its derivatives. ; The authors wish to acknowledge the financial assistance provided by the Spanish Government and European Regional Development Fund (Project RTC-2016-5241-2). Maribel Quelal Vásconez thanks the Ministry Higher ...

Examines reasons why the government of the Ivory Coast, unlike other African countries, did not exert control over the coffee and cocoa industries.

[EN] Variation in methylxanthines (theobromine and caffeine) and flavanols (catechin and epicatechin) was studied in a large set of cocoa powders (covering different origins, processing parameters and alkalisation levels). The content of these compounds was established by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), whose results showed that the alkalisation process lowered the content of all analytes, whose loss was more evident in flavanols. Therefore, the determination of these analytes in a huge set of samples allowed not only better knowledge of the concentration variability in natural commercial cocoas from different origins, but also the understanding of the effect that industrial alkalisation has on these contents. The feasibility of reflectance near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) combined with partial least square (PLS) to non-destructively predict these contents, was also evaluated. All the analytes were generally well predicted, with predictions for methylxanthines (R-P(Z) 0.819-0.813 and RMSEP 0.068-0.022%, and bias 0.005 and 0.007 for theobromine and caffeine, respectively) and for flavanols (R-P(Z) 0.830-0.824; RMSEP 8.160-7.430% and bias - 1.440 and -1.034 for catechin and epicatechin, respectively). Thus NIRS could be an alternative fast reliable method for the routine assessment of these analytes in the cocoa industry. ; The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Spanish Government and European Regional Development Fund (Project RTC-2016-5241-2). M. A. Quelal thanks the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (SENESCYT) of the Republic of Ecuador for her PhD grant. Olam Food Ingredients Company is aknowledged for proving part of the cocoa samples used in the study. ; Quelal-Vásconez, MA.; Lerma-García, MJ.; Pérez-Esteve, É.; Arnau-Bonachera, A.; Barat Baviera, JM.; Talens Oliag, P. (2020). Changes in methylxanthines and flavanols during cocoa powder processing and their quantification by near-infrared spectroscopy. LWT - Food Science & ...

Implementations of public policies and programs have been the bane of developing countries. Ghana is no exception as past policy measures initiated to resuscitate the dwindling cocoa industry have been implemented with less success. The introduction of the Cocoa Diseases and Pests Control (CODAPEC) program has been unique from the earlier reforms. The article explores on this program using a case study research based on survey questionnaire data from 100 farmers in Bia District of Ghana. The analysis focuses on the contributory factors and the relative importance of these factors towards implementation of this agricultural program. Five main factors of success were identified. The results showed that all these factors mattered as they played different and important roles. However, three key successes of factors based on statistical evidence were the supply of skilled personnel, active participation of farmers in the education program and high quantity of agrochemicals supplied. The study recommends the creation of incentive systems to reduce cost of production, periodic review of the producer price of cocoa and the development of the private sector.

Umfassende politische und wirtschaftliche Analyse der Entwicklung Äquatorialguineas seit der Unabhängigkeit von Spanien. Unterscheidung der politischen Konzepte der Militärregierung Obiang von der seines Onkels Macias, der als extrem diktatorisch und inkompetent galt und zum wirtschaftlichen Ruin des Landes beitrug. Untersucht werden die geerbten Probleme der Regierung Obiang, wirtschaftliche Anpassungsmaßnahmen, Probleme des Kakaoexports und die Umschaltung auf Holzexporte. Weitere Aspekte: Menschenrechtssituation, soziale Infrastruktur, Fachkräfteausbildung, Verschuldung, Beitritt zu UDEAC und Frankenzone. (DÜI-Wsl)

This dissertation is conducted to extend the research on the risk faced by the cocoa trading companies which are mostly dealing with African entities. It analyses the counterparties risks including customers and suppliers' risks. A survey determining which kind of strategies are used by the cocoa trading companies allowed us to understand the way of thinking of these firms. Also, many information about how to deal with the counterparty risks have been gathered through interviews with professional from the cocoa industry. After the prefinancing and credit risk, the risks of default and reject are the most important. It is usually due to the price variation, impacted by the climate changes, the political environment, or the lack of skills and honesty. Diverse solutions can be used to fight against the risks: financial instruments are a good solution to prevent the risk, such as the Letter of Credit (LC), or the Cash Against Documents (CAD). Cocoa firms are also willing to use Incoterms, credit insurances and Know Your Customer (KYC). The market risk is very high in both counterparties. That is why having the possibility to directly sell and buy on the exchange is a big advantage of the cocoa market. However, even if many factors can be used to manage these risks, most of them cannot be covered and are subjected to pure confidence and trust. This dissertation highlights the principal ways to manage the counterparty risks in a cocoa trading company. ; Esta dissertação pretende aprofundar a investigação realizada no âmbito do risco incorrido pelas empresas de comercialização de cacau que estão maioritariamente ligadas a entidades africanas. Assim sendo, os riscos de contraparte, incluindo os riscos dos clientes e dos fornecedores, são analisados. Através de um inquérito realizado às empresas de comercialização de cacau, foi possível determinar quais os tipos de estratégia executados por estas empresas e, consequentemente, compreender o modo de pensar das mesmas. Adicionalmente, foi recolhida informação acerca de como ...

Cocoa bean shell (CBS), a by-product with considerable concentrations of bioactive compounds and proven biofunctional potential, has been demonstrated to be a suitable ingredient for high-fiber functional biscuits adapted to diabetic consumers. In this work, the in vitro bioaccessibility and intestinal absorption of polyphenols and methylxanthines contained in these biscuits were evaluated, and the effect of the food matrix was studied. Biscuits containing CBS and the CBS alone underwent in vitro digestion followed by an intestinal permeability study. The results confirmed that compounds were less bioavailable in the presence of a food matrix, although the digestion contributed to their release from this matrix, increasing the concentrations available at the intestinal level and making them capable of promoting antioxidant and antidiabetic activities. After digestion, CBS biscuits were shown to possess α-glucosidase inhibition capacity comparable to that of acarbose. Moreover, the presence of the food matrix improved the stability of polyphenols throughout the digestion process. Intestinal absorption of flavan-3-ols seemed to be limited to a maximum threshold and was therefore independent of the sample, while procyanidin was not absorbed. Methylxanthine absorption was high and was boosted by the presence of the food matrix. The results confirmed the biofunctional potential of CBS-based biscuits ; The present work was supported by COVALFOOD "Valorisation of high added-value compounds from cocoa industry by-products as food ingredients and additives". This project received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research and innovation under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 609402—2020 researchers: Train to Move (T2M) ; SI

Most researchers defend cocoa agroforests as a model, which guarantees sustainable cocoa production while protecting biodiversity. However, in most countries, farmers' strategies favour "full sun" cocoa farms, close to the concept of monoculture. Why this apparent paradox? Field surveys were conducted in 2005 and 2008 with 180 migrant and autochthon farmers in four districts of Ghana, including some measurements at the farm plot level and satellite images in a fifth district. An analytical grid shows how factors interact. Adoption of sun-loving hybrids; farmers' negative perception of ecological services in relation to hybrids; legislation excluding smallholders from the legal timber market; recent expansion of the timber industry; and the migratory phenomenon. Most smallholders consider complex cocoa agroforests as a thing of the past. They were designed at a time when land and forests were abundant. The future of cocoa and timber may lie in 'light commercial-oriented agroforests' or a kind of mosaic landscape.