| July 2006 News |
July 31, 2006 - Dark chocolate is sweeping the globe. In Bulgaria Nestle releases Nestle Noir, Nestle Intense and LZ all dark chocolate
items. In Italy Ferrero has released Rondnoir and everything from M&M's to a wide range of Hershey products here in the USA. The
Southern Sun Beverly Hills hotel in Umhlanga, South Africa is now offering "A Month of Decadent Chocolate", in collaboration with Swiss
chocolate maker, Lindt . A special issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology has pulled together a variety of studies, supported
by Confectionary giant Mars, that tout the health benefits of flavanols found in dark chocolate.
July 30, 2006 - Soft serve Ice Cream lovers are saddened by the imminent closing of the Washington Boulevard Dairy Queen in Sarasota
Florida which has been cooling residents off for the last forty plus years
July 29, 2006 - The confectionary at Hailsham Police Station in Sussex, England operates on an honor system and officers help
themselves to sweets and drinks before leaving money in a tin. This has led to the arrest and suspension of two officers who abused the
system and have been accused of stealing chocolates. Chocolate and candy maker Hershey Co. said Friday its largest shareholder,
Hershey Trust Co., has renewed an agreement to take part in the company's share repurchase program on a proportional basis. The
renewed agreement expires February 2007. In Florida State Rep. Irv Slosberg is using a milk chocolate prop of a cruise ship to his
Democratic Primary opponent Ted Deutch who went on a two day cruise right after Hurricane Wilma hit his district last year.
"Chocollissima is an extraordinary chocolate packed with a unique combination of wild harvested exotic rain forest plants including Clavo
Huasco and Jatoba" claims a press release from the folks at Phytobase makers of ChocoLeans and LeanCaffe. UK confectioner
Thorntons saw sales drop by 5.9% in the last year. Some of this was due to restructuring of the brand by Marks and Spencer and some
due to the closure of some stores. Thorntons claims they will open more stores next year and they did see a nice increase in their online
business. Over the last month Hershey has announced a spate of high level appointments including Gregg A. Tanner is the new senior
vice president of global operations, Mark K. Pogharian as director of investor relations and Humberto Alfonso was named vice president of
finance and planning for the US commercial group. Two new members have joined the World Cocoa Foundation. The first is CocoaPhil
the organization that is trying to increase cocoa production in the Philippines. The other is Lake Champlain Chocolates the Vermont , USA
firm. Cadbury Schweppes, the world's biggest confectionery maker, signed an agreement yesterday with Vietnam's leading food maker
Kinh Do, giving it access to the company's extensive distribution network and to give Kinh Do access to international markets. Kinh Do
started as a snack producer and has expanded into a variety of products including candy and ice cream.
July 28, 2006 - More and more sightings of chocolate are showing up in the Indian press as the people of India are embracing chocolate
consumption. This article has a general overview of the history of chocolate and then an interesting idea for making balloon shaped
chocolates. Ben and Jerry's are introducing a new product line MilkShakes in three of its popular ice cream flavors: Cherry Garcia, Chunky
Monkey and Chocolate Fudge Brownie. They are not produced by Ben and Jerry's but are bottled by Pepsi using dairy products local to a
particular bottler and should be available at a grocery store near you shortly. Three youngsters a boy 14 and two girls ages 12 and 13 let
their love of chocolate lead them into some bad decision making in Bacolod, Philippines. They were caught shop lifting a bunch of
chocolate bars worth P30.45 and were sent to the local police station. They police released them after telling them not to repeat the act. As
an aside P30.45 is 59 cents in the USA.
July 27, 2006 - Australian schools are under pressure to end the practice of using the selling of chocolate as a fund raising tool. The
feeling is using "junk food" for school events sends a poor message to students. 7 - Eleven is joining the ranks of convenience stores that
are producing their own chocolate bars under the 7 - Eleven brand name.
July 25, 2006 - Following reports that Cadbury Schweppes could face a damages case as the most likely cause of a salmonella outbreak,
the Liberal Democrat Party in the United Kingdom have renewed their calls for the prosecution of the company for not notifying the
authorities of the infection in their chocolate for five months. A hotter than usual summer in England, temperatures hit 98 degrees
Fahrenheit which for the UK is really high, ice cream sales have blasted through the roof. Sainsbury's, Britain's third largest supermarket,
are reporting sales up 60% over the same period last year. Ice Cream makers are feeling the pressure to keep up with demand but in a
month or so the hot weather will come to an end and then everything will return to normal. Cadbury has apologized for its actions in the
recent salmonella incident. They seem to be back pedaling a bit on compensating victims and have yet to comment on their inability to
have met previous EU hygiene deadlines.
July 24, 2006 - While not admitting guilt Cadbury is considering making some sort of payment to people who came down with salmonella
Montevideo after eating Cadbury product. In India chocolate is now being used as a beauty treatment. Used mostly as a face mask or on
the feet since it is all natural it can be used by all sin types. It is claimed to have anti ageing properties as well as being beneficial for dry
skin. Green Mountain Chocolate Company is building a new store and production facility in Hopedale, Massachusetts. While moving their
production facility they will continue to have a retail store in Franklin but they will close
down their old Franklin store. Both new locations should be ready for business by September. The FDA has issued the following Press
Release "Harry & David Recalls Harry and David Chocolate Covered Pear Bites Because They may Contain Undeclared Almonds, Egg and
Wheat Ingredients". Here's something just a little different. Better Homes And Gardens has a recipe for chocolate nachos.
July 23, 2006 - Catherine Henderson, from Larne, Ulster, United Kingdom was hospitalised for five days earlier this year, after eating a
Cadbury's Caramel bar. She had come down with a case of salmonella Montevideo and is now considering legal action against the
chocolate manufacturer. A picture of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, center, picks up a chocolate after cutting the ribbon during a road
inauguration ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan. A picture of Alejandro Rumbos holding an organic cacao's fresh fruit at his farm in
Ocumare de la Costa, 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Caracas, Venezuela. The world’s largest lollipop manufacturer, Chupa Chups SA
has been sold to Italian-Dutch company, Perfetti van Melle after its failure to recover from falling sales. In response to consumer demand
M&M's are now being released in Dark Choclate flavor. The wrapper will be a distinctive blue. The folks at Scharffen Berger have posted a
piece on their site about the history pf chocolate cake. For the Nutella fan, and by the way who isn't Nutella has an ongoing sweepstakes
that is free to enter. Each month they give away a case of their product to some lucky winner.
July 22, 2006 - The chef working at the Belgian Embassy in Tokyo, Japan Ari Lepisto talks about cooking and his love of chocolate and
gives his recipe for chocolate mousse in this wide ranging interview. The Nestle Toll House Cafés across America will be celebrating the
75th Anniversary of the Toll House cookie, better known as the chocolate chip cookie, this weekend. If you have one in your area drop by
and by homage to this great American culinary achievement.
July 21, 2006 - In the United Kingdom The Health Protection Agency has issued its preliminary findings on the Cadbury salmonella affair.
The agency's Outbreak Control Team (OCT) said: "After carefully considering all the available evidence the OCT concluded that
consumption of products made by Cadbury Schweppes was the most credible explanation for the outbreak of salmonella Montevideo."
They don't fool around at the Franklin County Fair in Ohio. Holding a baking competition for youngsters, the winning baked goods were
auctioned off to the hungry crowd. Top price, $750 for peanut butter bars, went to 9-year-old Marshall Johnson, of Hilliard.
July 20, 2006 - Hershey Company has posted higher second-quarter income and profits, driven by solid sales of new dark chocolate
offerings and Kissables candies, as well as cost controls. Malaysia is going through a severe sugar shortage which is beginning to effect
the nations ability to manufacture chocolate. The government has kept the price of sugar in check through price controls and now with
sugar selling for as much as twice as much in other countries smugglers have taken to illegally shipping sugar out of the country. This
dearth is hurting the chocolate and snack food industries and will have a ripple effect on other nations in the region as much of Malaysia's
chocolate and snack food products are made for export. The Jersey shore is crackling with the additions of Chocolate Bar on Long Beach
Island, an extension of Chocolate Bar in Manhattan, and It'Sugar, a candy superstore put together by Jeff Rubin who also was involved with
designing Dylan's Candy Bar and FAO Schweetz. Located at the entrance to Caesar's Pier visitors are greeted by a gigantic elephant
consisting of over one million jelly beans. The Kaiser Family Foundation has released a study on the effects of snack food websites and
the games they offer kids. We here at eChocolateNYC have already encountered this phenomenon, a kid friendly site from a cereal maker
for example, that offers a cool selection of free games for kids to play. Of course the child is also being exposed to repeated images of the
cereals mascot and spending long periods of time being exposed as opposed to a TV commercial which only has 30 or 60 seconds to get
its message across. Of course here at eChocolateNYC we engage in no such subliminal shenanigans we just say BUY LOTS OF
CHOCOLATE NOW.
July 19, 2006 - Downtown Macon, Georgia is going to get a chocolate shop. Scott Kiernan who will be the pastry chef as well as own the
shop has chosen the name Xocolatl Gourmet. He will be popening at 314 Second St. in the next few days. Here is a recipe for Chocolate
Key West Lime Pie that looks promising.
July 18, 2006 - Kraft Foods purchased a controlling piece of United Biscuits southern European business for a little over a billion dollars.
United Biscuits produces the Truinfo brand in Portugal among other things.
July 16, 2006 - The Lava Bar which is being billed as the worlds first liquid chocolate bar. It comes in a foil lined packet that one opens
and then squeezes the chocolate out of and down the mouth. Media Run Search has won a contract with Neuhaus Chocolate to drive
sales at its new UK franchise via search engines. They hope to optimize Internet search engines allowing more web surfers to be
introduced to the Neuhaus line of products. Thirty Metro chocolate bars were seized at Nottingham East Midlands Airport, England. Mixed
in with the chocolate were 3.3 pounds of pure opium. The opium, from Turkey could have been processed into heroin and had a street
value of $38,000. Springfield , Missouri attorney Shawn Askinosie, , is renovating a building at 514 E. Commercial St. where he hopes to
produce Askinosie Chocolate. He has traveled to Mexico, Venezuela and Ecuador in search of information and will be importing beans
from all three countries. He hopes to produce small batches of high grade dark chocolate and has targeted the Christmas season for his
first product to come out. Cadbury Schweppes is appealing a previous decision by an Australian Court which ruled that Cadbury could not
claim the color purple as a trade marked item leaving the door open for Darrell Lea Chocolates to continue selling their products in purple
wrappers. A really neat photo of crew members of the Zvezda module of the International Space Station watching a chocolate bar float by
in the weightlessness of space. Although it does not directly involve chocolate Coca - Cola , Korea is facing a frightening situation. They
have been forced to recall 40,000 cases of Coca - Cola after having received a series of threats to poison their product. One woman sank
into a coma after drinking poisoned Coca - Cola. The extortionists have sent 75 emails and are looking for $2,100,000. Nestle has
launched a premium ice cream brand Movenpick in the growing Chinese market. It will first be available in Shanghai at a few hotels and
other places. Nestle hopes to position themselves as the premium brand in China.
July 15, 2006 - The rock group Coklat has been captured in chocolate and the life sized sculpture is now on display at the Lippo
Supermall in Karawaci, Tangerang, in Jakarta, Indonesia. Ecco Bella has released a new chocolate bar " The Wonder Bar" . The bar has a
combination of herbs, chocolates, soy and rose oil. The company claims that the bar helps to fight PMS and the effects of menopause as
well as tasting great. West Liberty , Ohio is the home of Marie's Candies. Started 50 years ago by Marie King the company is flourishing
today. Marie is 90 now and a third generation of her family is helping to run things. The shop employs 32 people and they go through 450
pounds of candy a day, five days a week.
July 14, 2006 - Scientists in Nigeria may have found away around one of chocolates most vexing problems. S.O. Ogunwolu and C.O.
Jayeola, food scientists at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, have put together a recipe where they mix cornstarch with cocoa and it
produces a heat resistant chocolate that they claim doesn't melt in temperatures up to 122 degrees.
July 13, 2006 - Sarah Aiko Uno Takitani, who founded Hawaiian Host Inc. with her late husband, Mamoru Takitani, died June 28 on Oahu,
Hawaii. She was 92. While working with her husband at the families Star Ice and Soda Works business in the 1950's she experimented
with the concept of encasing macadamia nuts and on January 1, 1960 they formed Hawaiian Host in Honolulu. She made her early
deliveries in her station wagon to stores through out Hawaii. She and her husband later established a scholarship fund that gave over a
million dollars to outstanding students. The Motley Fool analysis of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. They have mixed opinions about
the future of the company and its direction. Researchers at Cornall University have found that those who eat chocolate and other sweets
are more likely to consume fruit than those who favor salty snacks.
July 12, 2006 - General Mills is releasing a new cereal Double Chocolate Cookie Crisp. It's made with whole grain and is cereal and
chocolate chip cookies mixed. Scharffen Berger is hosting a Peet's Coffee and chocolate tasting. July 19th finds the event at there San
Francisco Ferry Building shop 415-593-3831, 7:00 - 8:30 pm and the Berkeley shop July 20th at Cafe Cacao 510-843-6000. Seattle Post
Intelligencer Food Editor Hsiao-Ching Chou writes about and interesting situation. When baking chocolate chip cookies she finds her
coworkers prefer those cookies made with chocolate with a lower cacao percentage as they seem to crave the sugar that brands like
Nestle's and Baker's offer. Read a Patent application for a product that will help the sugar based shells on such coated chocolate products
such as M&M's or Smarties stay stable at high temperatures. This will allow them to have a longer shelf life in countries or regions of the
world where it is hot. Especially places where there is no air cooling systems in operation.
July 11, 2006 - Cadbury has agreed to a whole series of changes as to how they test there products for possible contamination. Among
the changes they are now “moving to a protocol in which any product evidencing contamination is destroyed.” They are also moving to a
system where food will only be released after it has been tested. Apparently Cadbury was not complying with some EU directives including
one where all product is tested pre - shipping.
July 10, 2006 - In Venezuela cacao farmers are taking over old shut down plantations and bringing them back to life. Venezuela was a
large cocoa exporter until the 1920's when oil became the linchpin of the economy. With the combination of soil and sun the natural
conditions are right and many of the farmers are growing organic. A women from Northern Ireland is threatening to sue Cadbury if tests
come back and prove that the salmonella she contracted is from the batch of tainted chocolate that Cadbury shipped out. I would guess
this will be the first in a cascade of legal action that Cadbury will face.
July 09, 2006 - Cadbury is now facing possible prosecution for supplying food unfit for human consumption. They could also be facing
charges to carry out proper risk assessments, and failing to notify local authorities when they became aware that they were shipping
contaminated goods. 64 percent of Americans claim they are concerned about the safety of artificial sweeteners. This hasn't stopped the
growth of artificial sweeteners in the marketplace but it is something for the makers of sugar free chocolate to think about.
July 08, 2006 - The Nova Scotia , Canada government is being urged to do what it can to ensure a famous chocolate factory stays open.
Hershey has decided to sell off its Pot Of Gold line of chocolates. Pot Of Gold started in 1928. Hershey has already laid off 500 of the 820
employees. Researchers at the Institute for Surface Chemistry in Sweden have been developing a method for monitoring the onset of
chocolate bloom. Although chocolate bloom doesn't change the taste of chocolate when the chocolate surface gets a coating of white
frosting consumers usually find it unacceptable for purchase.
July 07, 2006 - They're celebrating World Chocolate Day in India. As if it couldn't get worse for Cadbury in tis ever widening scandal. It
turns out Cadbury was not only using the crumb produced by its plant but was also selling it to other chocolate manufacturers for use in
there products. Cadbury has already recalled 250 tons of potentially infected chocolate but 4,500 pounds may have been affected. Cadbury
has agreed to change its cleaning regimes at the plant.
July 05, 2006 - More bad news for Cadbury as Brunei has now banned the seven Cadbury chocolate bars that have been linked to the
recent salmonella outbreaks in the United Kingdom. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. , RMCF, today announced that it will host an
investor conference call on July 11, 2006 to discuss its operating results for the first quarter of FY2007. Seven Davis, California girls are
having fun producing there own chocolate bars and marketing them under the YummyDummy brand. They donate 10% of there profits to
charity and there stake in the venture fluctuates by how many hours they put into the project. They have a website www.yummy-dummy.
com and it's worth taking a look at. We all know about fair trade chocolate and coffee and now fair trade vanilla is set to hit the US market.
TransFair USA is set to certify fair trade pure vanilla that will then be distributed by David Michael. It makes one wonder what other products
will eventually be produced under the fair trade banner. The Philippines are seeking to increase production of cocoa beans from 6,000 tons
of dried beans to 337,000 tons in the next ten years. The Cocoa Foundation of the Philippines has identified four areas of the Philippines
where cocoa production could be increased. The Foundation hopes this would turn the nation into an exporter instead of an importer of
cocoa.
July 04, 2006 - The Body Shop has turned over its 14% share in The Day Chocolate Company to the co-operative of cocoa farmers who
founded it. The Body Shop had provided financing to the Ghanian cocoa farmers who market there product as Divine fair trade chocolate.
We've yet to try it but this does seem like an excellent recipe for French Chocolate Buttercream. The British government agency, the Food
Standards Agency, has stated that Cadbury's testing and reporting procedures were inadequate in the recent salmonella recall.
July 03, 2006 - A recipe we have yet had the opportunity to try for a thinner, crispier chocolate chip cookie. Barry Callebaut has reported an
increased operating profit (EBIT) of 14.6 per cent for the first nine months of fiscal year 2005/06. The company experienced strong growth
while being able to contain costs and is expanding into developing markets especially Asia. We reported July 1st that in Germany
chocolatiers were pushing ahead to construct the worlds largest chocolate cuckoo clock. Well in Singapore they have unwrapped the all
worlds largest chocolate bar. Weighing in at 2.668 tonnes it hopes to gain recognition from the Guinness Book of Records as the largest
chocolate bar ever. The bar was constructed by Nestle Singapore and will be on display until July 16th. A picture of a Halloren Chocolate
Factory worker making some of the pieces that will eventually end up on the worlds largest chocolate cuckoo clock.
July 02, 2006 - Cadbury announced that they are testing thousands of different products and have yet to find any traces of salmonella
outside of the original seven recalled products.
July 01, 2006 - The Halloren Chocolate Factory in the German town of Gernrode in conjunction with the Harz Clock Factory are heading
towards completion of the world's largest chocolate cuckoo clock. The clock will use 265 pounds of chocolate and will be 9' 2" tall. After the
clock is displayed the pieces will be auctioned off with the proceeds going to charity. Publix Super Markets are recalling 18-ounce
packages of refrigerated Publix Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. The dough was improperly labeled and carries pecans which are not on
the label. Thirty more Cadbury brands are now being tested for salmonella as they were made with crumb that was stored in a silo that
had stored the previously infected bars. The Edinburgh City Council visited 200 shops and found that 16% of them were still selling the
recalled bars.
items. In Italy Ferrero has released Rondnoir and everything from M&M's to a wide range of Hershey products here in the USA. The
Southern Sun Beverly Hills hotel in Umhlanga, South Africa is now offering "A Month of Decadent Chocolate", in collaboration with Swiss
chocolate maker, Lindt . A special issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology has pulled together a variety of studies, supported
by Confectionary giant Mars, that tout the health benefits of flavanols found in dark chocolate.
July 30, 2006 - Soft serve Ice Cream lovers are saddened by the imminent closing of the Washington Boulevard Dairy Queen in Sarasota
Florida which has been cooling residents off for the last forty plus years
July 29, 2006 - The confectionary at Hailsham Police Station in Sussex, England operates on an honor system and officers help
themselves to sweets and drinks before leaving money in a tin. This has led to the arrest and suspension of two officers who abused the
system and have been accused of stealing chocolates. Chocolate and candy maker Hershey Co. said Friday its largest shareholder,
Hershey Trust Co., has renewed an agreement to take part in the company's share repurchase program on a proportional basis. The
renewed agreement expires February 2007. In Florida State Rep. Irv Slosberg is using a milk chocolate prop of a cruise ship to his
Democratic Primary opponent Ted Deutch who went on a two day cruise right after Hurricane Wilma hit his district last year.
"Chocollissima is an extraordinary chocolate packed with a unique combination of wild harvested exotic rain forest plants including Clavo
Huasco and Jatoba" claims a press release from the folks at Phytobase makers of ChocoLeans and LeanCaffe. UK confectioner
Thorntons saw sales drop by 5.9% in the last year. Some of this was due to restructuring of the brand by Marks and Spencer and some
due to the closure of some stores. Thorntons claims they will open more stores next year and they did see a nice increase in their online
business. Over the last month Hershey has announced a spate of high level appointments including Gregg A. Tanner is the new senior
vice president of global operations, Mark K. Pogharian as director of investor relations and Humberto Alfonso was named vice president of
finance and planning for the US commercial group. Two new members have joined the World Cocoa Foundation. The first is CocoaPhil
the organization that is trying to increase cocoa production in the Philippines. The other is Lake Champlain Chocolates the Vermont , USA
firm. Cadbury Schweppes, the world's biggest confectionery maker, signed an agreement yesterday with Vietnam's leading food maker
Kinh Do, giving it access to the company's extensive distribution network and to give Kinh Do access to international markets. Kinh Do
started as a snack producer and has expanded into a variety of products including candy and ice cream.
July 28, 2006 - More and more sightings of chocolate are showing up in the Indian press as the people of India are embracing chocolate
consumption. This article has a general overview of the history of chocolate and then an interesting idea for making balloon shaped
chocolates. Ben and Jerry's are introducing a new product line MilkShakes in three of its popular ice cream flavors: Cherry Garcia, Chunky
Monkey and Chocolate Fudge Brownie. They are not produced by Ben and Jerry's but are bottled by Pepsi using dairy products local to a
particular bottler and should be available at a grocery store near you shortly. Three youngsters a boy 14 and two girls ages 12 and 13 let
their love of chocolate lead them into some bad decision making in Bacolod, Philippines. They were caught shop lifting a bunch of
chocolate bars worth P30.45 and were sent to the local police station. They police released them after telling them not to repeat the act. As
an aside P30.45 is 59 cents in the USA.
July 27, 2006 - Australian schools are under pressure to end the practice of using the selling of chocolate as a fund raising tool. The
feeling is using "junk food" for school events sends a poor message to students. 7 - Eleven is joining the ranks of convenience stores that
are producing their own chocolate bars under the 7 - Eleven brand name.
July 25, 2006 - Following reports that Cadbury Schweppes could face a damages case as the most likely cause of a salmonella outbreak,
the Liberal Democrat Party in the United Kingdom have renewed their calls for the prosecution of the company for not notifying the
authorities of the infection in their chocolate for five months. A hotter than usual summer in England, temperatures hit 98 degrees
Fahrenheit which for the UK is really high, ice cream sales have blasted through the roof. Sainsbury's, Britain's third largest supermarket,
are reporting sales up 60% over the same period last year. Ice Cream makers are feeling the pressure to keep up with demand but in a
month or so the hot weather will come to an end and then everything will return to normal. Cadbury has apologized for its actions in the
recent salmonella incident. They seem to be back pedaling a bit on compensating victims and have yet to comment on their inability to
have met previous EU hygiene deadlines.
July 24, 2006 - While not admitting guilt Cadbury is considering making some sort of payment to people who came down with salmonella
Montevideo after eating Cadbury product. In India chocolate is now being used as a beauty treatment. Used mostly as a face mask or on
the feet since it is all natural it can be used by all sin types. It is claimed to have anti ageing properties as well as being beneficial for dry
skin. Green Mountain Chocolate Company is building a new store and production facility in Hopedale, Massachusetts. While moving their
production facility they will continue to have a retail store in Franklin but they will close
down their old Franklin store. Both new locations should be ready for business by September. The FDA has issued the following Press
Release "Harry & David Recalls Harry and David Chocolate Covered Pear Bites Because They may Contain Undeclared Almonds, Egg and
Wheat Ingredients". Here's something just a little different. Better Homes And Gardens has a recipe for chocolate nachos.
July 23, 2006 - Catherine Henderson, from Larne, Ulster, United Kingdom was hospitalised for five days earlier this year, after eating a
Cadbury's Caramel bar. She had come down with a case of salmonella Montevideo and is now considering legal action against the
chocolate manufacturer. A picture of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, center, picks up a chocolate after cutting the ribbon during a road
inauguration ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan. A picture of Alejandro Rumbos holding an organic cacao's fresh fruit at his farm in
Ocumare de la Costa, 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Caracas, Venezuela. The world’s largest lollipop manufacturer, Chupa Chups SA
has been sold to Italian-Dutch company, Perfetti van Melle after its failure to recover from falling sales. In response to consumer demand
M&M's are now being released in Dark Choclate flavor. The wrapper will be a distinctive blue. The folks at Scharffen Berger have posted a
piece on their site about the history pf chocolate cake. For the Nutella fan, and by the way who isn't Nutella has an ongoing sweepstakes
that is free to enter. Each month they give away a case of their product to some lucky winner.
July 22, 2006 - The chef working at the Belgian Embassy in Tokyo, Japan Ari Lepisto talks about cooking and his love of chocolate and
gives his recipe for chocolate mousse in this wide ranging interview. The Nestle Toll House Cafés across America will be celebrating the
75th Anniversary of the Toll House cookie, better known as the chocolate chip cookie, this weekend. If you have one in your area drop by
and by homage to this great American culinary achievement.
July 21, 2006 - In the United Kingdom The Health Protection Agency has issued its preliminary findings on the Cadbury salmonella affair.
The agency's Outbreak Control Team (OCT) said: "After carefully considering all the available evidence the OCT concluded that
consumption of products made by Cadbury Schweppes was the most credible explanation for the outbreak of salmonella Montevideo."
They don't fool around at the Franklin County Fair in Ohio. Holding a baking competition for youngsters, the winning baked goods were
auctioned off to the hungry crowd. Top price, $750 for peanut butter bars, went to 9-year-old Marshall Johnson, of Hilliard.
July 20, 2006 - Hershey Company has posted higher second-quarter income and profits, driven by solid sales of new dark chocolate
offerings and Kissables candies, as well as cost controls. Malaysia is going through a severe sugar shortage which is beginning to effect
the nations ability to manufacture chocolate. The government has kept the price of sugar in check through price controls and now with
sugar selling for as much as twice as much in other countries smugglers have taken to illegally shipping sugar out of the country. This
dearth is hurting the chocolate and snack food industries and will have a ripple effect on other nations in the region as much of Malaysia's
chocolate and snack food products are made for export. The Jersey shore is crackling with the additions of Chocolate Bar on Long Beach
Island, an extension of Chocolate Bar in Manhattan, and It'Sugar, a candy superstore put together by Jeff Rubin who also was involved with
designing Dylan's Candy Bar and FAO Schweetz. Located at the entrance to Caesar's Pier visitors are greeted by a gigantic elephant
consisting of over one million jelly beans. The Kaiser Family Foundation has released a study on the effects of snack food websites and
the games they offer kids. We here at eChocolateNYC have already encountered this phenomenon, a kid friendly site from a cereal maker
for example, that offers a cool selection of free games for kids to play. Of course the child is also being exposed to repeated images of the
cereals mascot and spending long periods of time being exposed as opposed to a TV commercial which only has 30 or 60 seconds to get
its message across. Of course here at eChocolateNYC we engage in no such subliminal shenanigans we just say BUY LOTS OF
CHOCOLATE NOW.
July 19, 2006 - Downtown Macon, Georgia is going to get a chocolate shop. Scott Kiernan who will be the pastry chef as well as own the
shop has chosen the name Xocolatl Gourmet. He will be popening at 314 Second St. in the next few days. Here is a recipe for Chocolate
Key West Lime Pie that looks promising.
July 18, 2006 - Kraft Foods purchased a controlling piece of United Biscuits southern European business for a little over a billion dollars.
United Biscuits produces the Truinfo brand in Portugal among other things.
July 16, 2006 - The Lava Bar which is being billed as the worlds first liquid chocolate bar. It comes in a foil lined packet that one opens
and then squeezes the chocolate out of and down the mouth. Media Run Search has won a contract with Neuhaus Chocolate to drive
sales at its new UK franchise via search engines. They hope to optimize Internet search engines allowing more web surfers to be
introduced to the Neuhaus line of products. Thirty Metro chocolate bars were seized at Nottingham East Midlands Airport, England. Mixed
in with the chocolate were 3.3 pounds of pure opium. The opium, from Turkey could have been processed into heroin and had a street
value of $38,000. Springfield , Missouri attorney Shawn Askinosie, , is renovating a building at 514 E. Commercial St. where he hopes to
produce Askinosie Chocolate. He has traveled to Mexico, Venezuela and Ecuador in search of information and will be importing beans
from all three countries. He hopes to produce small batches of high grade dark chocolate and has targeted the Christmas season for his
first product to come out. Cadbury Schweppes is appealing a previous decision by an Australian Court which ruled that Cadbury could not
claim the color purple as a trade marked item leaving the door open for Darrell Lea Chocolates to continue selling their products in purple
wrappers. A really neat photo of crew members of the Zvezda module of the International Space Station watching a chocolate bar float by
in the weightlessness of space. Although it does not directly involve chocolate Coca - Cola , Korea is facing a frightening situation. They
have been forced to recall 40,000 cases of Coca - Cola after having received a series of threats to poison their product. One woman sank
into a coma after drinking poisoned Coca - Cola. The extortionists have sent 75 emails and are looking for $2,100,000. Nestle has
launched a premium ice cream brand Movenpick in the growing Chinese market. It will first be available in Shanghai at a few hotels and
other places. Nestle hopes to position themselves as the premium brand in China.
July 15, 2006 - The rock group Coklat has been captured in chocolate and the life sized sculpture is now on display at the Lippo
Supermall in Karawaci, Tangerang, in Jakarta, Indonesia. Ecco Bella has released a new chocolate bar " The Wonder Bar" . The bar has a
combination of herbs, chocolates, soy and rose oil. The company claims that the bar helps to fight PMS and the effects of menopause as
well as tasting great. West Liberty , Ohio is the home of Marie's Candies. Started 50 years ago by Marie King the company is flourishing
today. Marie is 90 now and a third generation of her family is helping to run things. The shop employs 32 people and they go through 450
pounds of candy a day, five days a week.
July 14, 2006 - Scientists in Nigeria may have found away around one of chocolates most vexing problems. S.O. Ogunwolu and C.O.
Jayeola, food scientists at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, have put together a recipe where they mix cornstarch with cocoa and it
produces a heat resistant chocolate that they claim doesn't melt in temperatures up to 122 degrees.
July 13, 2006 - Sarah Aiko Uno Takitani, who founded Hawaiian Host Inc. with her late husband, Mamoru Takitani, died June 28 on Oahu,
Hawaii. She was 92. While working with her husband at the families Star Ice and Soda Works business in the 1950's she experimented
with the concept of encasing macadamia nuts and on January 1, 1960 they formed Hawaiian Host in Honolulu. She made her early
deliveries in her station wagon to stores through out Hawaii. She and her husband later established a scholarship fund that gave over a
million dollars to outstanding students. The Motley Fool analysis of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. They have mixed opinions about
the future of the company and its direction. Researchers at Cornall University have found that those who eat chocolate and other sweets
are more likely to consume fruit than those who favor salty snacks.
July 12, 2006 - General Mills is releasing a new cereal Double Chocolate Cookie Crisp. It's made with whole grain and is cereal and
chocolate chip cookies mixed. Scharffen Berger is hosting a Peet's Coffee and chocolate tasting. July 19th finds the event at there San
Francisco Ferry Building shop 415-593-3831, 7:00 - 8:30 pm and the Berkeley shop July 20th at Cafe Cacao 510-843-6000. Seattle Post
Intelligencer Food Editor Hsiao-Ching Chou writes about and interesting situation. When baking chocolate chip cookies she finds her
coworkers prefer those cookies made with chocolate with a lower cacao percentage as they seem to crave the sugar that brands like
Nestle's and Baker's offer. Read a Patent application for a product that will help the sugar based shells on such coated chocolate products
such as M&M's or Smarties stay stable at high temperatures. This will allow them to have a longer shelf life in countries or regions of the
world where it is hot. Especially places where there is no air cooling systems in operation.
July 11, 2006 - Cadbury has agreed to a whole series of changes as to how they test there products for possible contamination. Among
the changes they are now “moving to a protocol in which any product evidencing contamination is destroyed.” They are also moving to a
system where food will only be released after it has been tested. Apparently Cadbury was not complying with some EU directives including
one where all product is tested pre - shipping.
July 10, 2006 - In Venezuela cacao farmers are taking over old shut down plantations and bringing them back to life. Venezuela was a
large cocoa exporter until the 1920's when oil became the linchpin of the economy. With the combination of soil and sun the natural
conditions are right and many of the farmers are growing organic. A women from Northern Ireland is threatening to sue Cadbury if tests
come back and prove that the salmonella she contracted is from the batch of tainted chocolate that Cadbury shipped out. I would guess
this will be the first in a cascade of legal action that Cadbury will face.
July 09, 2006 - Cadbury is now facing possible prosecution for supplying food unfit for human consumption. They could also be facing
charges to carry out proper risk assessments, and failing to notify local authorities when they became aware that they were shipping
contaminated goods. 64 percent of Americans claim they are concerned about the safety of artificial sweeteners. This hasn't stopped the
growth of artificial sweeteners in the marketplace but it is something for the makers of sugar free chocolate to think about.
July 08, 2006 - The Nova Scotia , Canada government is being urged to do what it can to ensure a famous chocolate factory stays open.
Hershey has decided to sell off its Pot Of Gold line of chocolates. Pot Of Gold started in 1928. Hershey has already laid off 500 of the 820
employees. Researchers at the Institute for Surface Chemistry in Sweden have been developing a method for monitoring the onset of
chocolate bloom. Although chocolate bloom doesn't change the taste of chocolate when the chocolate surface gets a coating of white
frosting consumers usually find it unacceptable for purchase.
July 07, 2006 - They're celebrating World Chocolate Day in India. As if it couldn't get worse for Cadbury in tis ever widening scandal. It
turns out Cadbury was not only using the crumb produced by its plant but was also selling it to other chocolate manufacturers for use in
there products. Cadbury has already recalled 250 tons of potentially infected chocolate but 4,500 pounds may have been affected. Cadbury
has agreed to change its cleaning regimes at the plant.
July 05, 2006 - More bad news for Cadbury as Brunei has now banned the seven Cadbury chocolate bars that have been linked to the
recent salmonella outbreaks in the United Kingdom. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. , RMCF, today announced that it will host an
investor conference call on July 11, 2006 to discuss its operating results for the first quarter of FY2007. Seven Davis, California girls are
having fun producing there own chocolate bars and marketing them under the YummyDummy brand. They donate 10% of there profits to
charity and there stake in the venture fluctuates by how many hours they put into the project. They have a website www.yummy-dummy.
com and it's worth taking a look at. We all know about fair trade chocolate and coffee and now fair trade vanilla is set to hit the US market.
TransFair USA is set to certify fair trade pure vanilla that will then be distributed by David Michael. It makes one wonder what other products
will eventually be produced under the fair trade banner. The Philippines are seeking to increase production of cocoa beans from 6,000 tons
of dried beans to 337,000 tons in the next ten years. The Cocoa Foundation of the Philippines has identified four areas of the Philippines
where cocoa production could be increased. The Foundation hopes this would turn the nation into an exporter instead of an importer of
cocoa.
July 04, 2006 - The Body Shop has turned over its 14% share in The Day Chocolate Company to the co-operative of cocoa farmers who
founded it. The Body Shop had provided financing to the Ghanian cocoa farmers who market there product as Divine fair trade chocolate.
We've yet to try it but this does seem like an excellent recipe for French Chocolate Buttercream. The British government agency, the Food
Standards Agency, has stated that Cadbury's testing and reporting procedures were inadequate in the recent salmonella recall.
July 03, 2006 - A recipe we have yet had the opportunity to try for a thinner, crispier chocolate chip cookie. Barry Callebaut has reported an
increased operating profit (EBIT) of 14.6 per cent for the first nine months of fiscal year 2005/06. The company experienced strong growth
while being able to contain costs and is expanding into developing markets especially Asia. We reported July 1st that in Germany
chocolatiers were pushing ahead to construct the worlds largest chocolate cuckoo clock. Well in Singapore they have unwrapped the all
worlds largest chocolate bar. Weighing in at 2.668 tonnes it hopes to gain recognition from the Guinness Book of Records as the largest
chocolate bar ever. The bar was constructed by Nestle Singapore and will be on display until July 16th. A picture of a Halloren Chocolate
Factory worker making some of the pieces that will eventually end up on the worlds largest chocolate cuckoo clock.
July 02, 2006 - Cadbury announced that they are testing thousands of different products and have yet to find any traces of salmonella
outside of the original seven recalled products.
July 01, 2006 - The Halloren Chocolate Factory in the German town of Gernrode in conjunction with the Harz Clock Factory are heading
towards completion of the world's largest chocolate cuckoo clock. The clock will use 265 pounds of chocolate and will be 9' 2" tall. After the
clock is displayed the pieces will be auctioned off with the proceeds going to charity. Publix Super Markets are recalling 18-ounce
packages of refrigerated Publix Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. The dough was improperly labeled and carries pecans which are not on
the label. Thirty more Cadbury brands are now being tested for salmonella as they were made with crumb that was stored in a silo that
had stored the previously infected bars. The Edinburgh City Council visited 200 shops and found that 16% of them were still selling the
recalled bars.
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