7. Summary Of Industry Requirements

For the production of good quality chocolate, manufacturers’ seek cocoa beans with the following qualities:

Quality	Reference
Have good, intrinsic flavour attributes	Part I: 1. Flavour
Free from off-flavours, particularly:
Smoke	Part I: 1.2. Smoky off-flavours, Part III: Drying
Mould	Part I: 1.1. Mouldy off-flavours, Part III: 2. Harvesting, Part III: 3. Post-harvest
Excessive acidity	Part I: 1.4. Acid taste, P3: 2. Harvesting, Part III: 3. Post-harvest
Excessive bitterness and astringency	Part I: 1.5. Bitterness and astringency, Part III: 1. Planting material

Be grown, harvested, fermented, dried and stored using recommended practices so as to ensure levels of contaminants are as low as reasonably achievable and comply with food safety legislation.
Allergens	Part I: 2.1. Allergens, Part III: 5. Transportation & Shipping Practices
Microbiological Hazards	Part I: 2.2. Microbiological Hazards, Part III: 3. Post-harvest
Dioxins and PCBs	Part I: 2.3. Dioxins and PCBs, Part III: 3. Post-harvest
Foreign Matter	Part I: 1.6. Contamination, P1: 2.4. Foreign Matter, Part III: 3. Post-harvest
Heavy Metals	Part I: 2.5. Heavy metals, Part III: 1. Cadmium uptake mitigation
Infestation	Part I: 2.6. Infestation, Part III: Storage, P3: 5. Transportation & Shipping Practices

Mineral Oil Hydrocarbons Polycyclic	Part I: 2.7. Mineral oil hydrocarbons, Part III: 3. Post-harvest
Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH)	Part I: 2.8. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH), Part III: 3. Post-harvest
Mycotoxins including OTA	Part I: 2.9. Mycotoxins, including Ochratoxin A (OTA),
	Part III: 2. Harvesting, Part III: 3. Post-harvest
Pesticide Residues	Part I: 2.10. Pesticide residues, Part III: 1. Pre-harvest, P3: 3. Post-harvest

Quality	Reference
Well within the International Grade 1 standard	Part I: 3. Physical Characteristics, Appendix A
Beans uniform in size and on average at least 1g in weight	Part I: 3. Physical Characteristics, Part II Quality Standards, Appendix A
Be well fermented and thoroughly dried, with a moisture content of approximately 7%, with an absolute maximum of 8%	Part I: 1. Moisture content, Part III: 3. Post-harvest
Consistent in quality both within parcels and between shipments	Part I: 3.1 Consistency

Essentially free from live insects	Part I: 2.6 Infestation, Part III: 3. Storage
Free from foreign matter	Part I: 1.6 Contamination, Part I: Foreign Matter, Part III: 3. Post-harvest
Free fatty acid content less than 1%	Part I: 4. Cocoa Butter Characteristics, Part III: 3. Post-harvest
In addition, manufacturers prefer cocoa beans with:
Fat content of 55-58% (dry nib basis)	Part I: 4. Cocoa Butter Characteristics, Part III: 1. Pre-harvest
Shell content of 11-12%	Part I: 3.2 Yield of Edible Material, Part III: 1. Pre-harvest
Hard cocoa butter	Part I: 4. Cocoa Butter Characteristics, Part III: 1. Pre-harvest