Reading scientists create chocolate bars from Berkshire-grown cocoa
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Scientists at the University of Reading have made six limited-edition chocolate bars using cocoa grown in Berkshire, reportedly the first made entirely from UK ingredients since 1932. Led by food security master’s student Maha Khan, the project is intended to demonstrate the vulnerability of global cocoa supplies to climate change and the importance of protecting cocoa-growing communities.
Khan harvested, fermented and processed beans from the university’s collection of more than 300 cocoa varieties at its international cocoa quarantine centre, which handles 97% of global cocoa-plant movement. Britain’s £10.4bn chocolate industry depends wholly on imported cocoa, while heat and heavier rainfall have damaged crops in producing regions; the university hopes its collection can help identify plants resilient to weather changes, pests and disease. Production may expand if sufficient beans are available, although a single cocoa pod takes about six months to grow.
- Reading scientists made six all-British chocolate bars.
- The project highlights climate risks to cocoa supplies.
- Cocoa diversity may improve crop resilience.
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Cocoa is the main ingredient in chocolate and normally grows in hot, humid countries near the equator. Most of the world’s cocoa is grown by small-scale farmers in West Africa, with other supplies coming from parts of Latin America and Asia.
The University of Reading keeps cocoa plants for research at a specialist quarantine centre, where plants and beans can be handled safely before being moved between countries. Researchers use such collections to study different cocoa varieties and to help protect crops from pests and disease.
Chocolate makers in Britain depend on imported cocoa, so changes to harvests overseas can affect supply and prices. Rising temperatures, changing rainfall and plant diseases are among the factors that can make cocoa farming less reliable.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “All-British chocolate bar made by scientists using Reading-grown cocoa”.