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May 31, 2006
- Two highschool students face jail for delivering pot-laced brownies to school officials. In
what was meant to be a senior prank, the two youngsters
passed out the
enhanced
brownies to employees at a Texas school. They could face 10 years or more in prison if convicted.
- See's Candy, a holding of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., works to increase its market
share. The company is utilizing holiday kiosks across the country
as well as the internet in a bid to widen the brand's familiarity outside of its native California.
- Political tension in the Ivory Coast makes the chocolate trade a dangerous business. Some companies
have ceased to deal in Ivorian cacao
out of concern for the safety of their employees, as massacres have been commonplace in some parts of the country since its
recent civil war (2002-2003).
- Natraceutical, a Spanish company, seeks a patent for a cocoa-derived, anti-oxidant rich
ingredient called CCX-70.
CCX-70
could be used by food producers to enhance the health benefits of their products.
May 30, 2006
- Kosher chocolate is now being made in the Ukraine. The chocolate, available both as bars and
in several candy varieties, is made by Zhitomirskiye Lasoschi company under the supervision of the
Ukrainian Kashrut Committee.
- A retrospective of the work of John Cadbury. Cadbury, a Quaker,
fought for social reform even as he expanded his
chocolate business
into an empire.
May 29, 2006
- In Belize, Fairtrade makes a difference. Cacao famers in Toledo, Belize sell their organic
cacao to the Green & Black company of Britain, which uses it to produce a Fairtrade bar called
Maya Gold.
Although
Fairtrade certification is controversial and difficult to attain, it has been a boon for
this community.
- Homeless shelter and chocolate factory? At the Samaritan Inn in Collins County, Texas,
residents learn job skills and bring in money for the shelter by making
chocolate truffles.
- It was a slow day for chocolate news...
May 27, 2006
- Equal Exchange presses the government of the Dominican Republic to repeal cacao tax.
The Dominican government has imposed a
tax on an organized group of small-scale cacao farmers who produce organic cacao and on other small farmers. The farmers
and their advocates hope to have it repealed.
- As barbecue season begins, chocolate takes a turn at the grill. Diva Chocolates in
Oregon now sells five
spice rubs, each of which includes chocolate.
- 2006 Report on chocolate marketing released--read it for only $2,500! Each year, Joan Steuer,
president of Chocolate Marketing, LLC, creates a
report listing what she sees as
the top money making trends in the chocolate industry. This year's report is now available (to those who can afford it).
- Snickers will be the official candybar of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing According to the
press release, Snickers
shares the values
of the 2008 Olympics.
- Pure cocoa proven to help prevent cancer and heart disease. In a
study co-sponsored by
Harvard and Mars Inc., it was determined that a group of native Panamanian islanders who regularly consumed
chocolate
water
had a significantly lower risk of both diseases than a group of nearby islanders who didn't consume the beverage.
- Eating cocoa might be good for the skin. German scientists saw marked improvement in the
quality of test subjects skin when they consumed
high-flavanol cocoa.
- The World's biggest cacao producer fights poverty. After a civil war, the
Ivory Coast
struggles with poverty, a difficult economy, and a black market in cacao.
- Disease attacks cacao plants in Ghana. Ghana's cacao crop is threatened by a
virus that attacks
the shoots of cacao trees.
May 26, 2006
- Milk chocolate--with camel milk of course!
Camels' milk, which is more nutritious than
cows' milk, is a market with untapped potential.
- Eating milk chocolate might be good for you too! In a new study called
The Effects of
Chocolate Consumption on Enhancing Cognitive Performance
, scientists found that a boost in
brain function occurs
about fifteen minutes after chocolate consumption. This effect was particularly strong after subjects ate milk chocolate.
- Ivorian soccer team agrees to promote their country's chocolate as they pursue World Cup
glory. The Ivory Coast Elephants will particularly promote
"
Le Chocolate du Planteur
, or Planter's Chocolate,
a product aimed at chocolate connoisseurs.
- Chocolate milk gets chic. Neilson Dairy, a Canadian company, is set to release a high-end
chocolate milk
that is geared towards adults.
- Dark chocolate just keeps getting darker. Products with very high chocolate liquor contents are
filling the shelves in grocery stores. Tasters rate a few
top brands.
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