Part III: Aspects of Cocoa Production Affecting the Quality Requirements

This publication does not set out to prescribe a method or methods of producing cocoa beans of good quality. This would involve going into the details of fermentation and drying suitable for many widely differing local conditions and is beyond the scope of this booklet.

The aim of this section is to highlight the main factors affecting the various aspects of quality. Recommendations follow those made in a number of sources including the Codex Codes of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of Ochratoxin A Contamination of Cocoa (CAC CXC 72-2013) and Prevention and Reduction of Cadmium Contamination in Cocoa Beans (CAC CXC 81-2022), 

The CCE Sustainable Cocoa Trainers’ Manual Ghana Version 2.1 - June 2016 (Dohmen, Helberg, & Asiedu, 2016), the Guidelines on Best Known Practices in the Cocoa Value Chain (CS-16-2-Rev 1) (ICCO, 2009), Gap recommendations to achieve the characteristics of good quality cocoa (Gilmour, 2009) and the information available from www.cocoasafe.org (CocoaSafe, 2015).