Cocoa & Chocolate Testing Service

In order to protect the interests of consumers, reduce the risk of food fraud, and ensure the accuracy of your product labels, Alfa Chemistry has developed a cocoa & chocolate testing platform.

In the food manufacturing industry, especially in the candy manufacturing industry, chocolate is a kind of high-calorie sweets with a delicate taste and rich aroma, which is deeply loved by consumers all over the world. During the fundamental transformation of chocolate from raw materials to finished products, there are many opportunities for adulteration. Mixing underfermented cocoa beans with fermented cocoa beans is the most common form of adulteration.

Cocoa butter, the main raw material of chocolate, is a milky yellow natural vegetable oil with a strong and beautiful unique fragrance, which represents the "gold content" of chocolate. Cocoa butter substitute is a kind of artificial stearin that is close to natural cocoa butter in physical properties. Its main component is triglyceride, which has the characteristics of rapid melting and has a taste similar to cocoa butter. From a cost point of view, the price of raw materials for a ton of cocoa butter and cocoa butter substitutes is nearly four times different. Therefore, some manufacturers use cocoa butter substitutes in the chocolate production process. Adding cocoa butter substitutes to chocolate is allowed, but it needs to be clearly marked on the food label.

The addition of other foreign ingredients may or may not replace natural or synthetic ingredients in chocolate, which may have an impact on consumer health.

Alfa Chemistry has developed a cocoa & chocolate testing platform, which can identify the purity of cocoa beans, detect the content of other chemical components in chocolate and the safety of food.

For consumers, manufacturers, retailers, and administrators, we can use our professional knowledge to customize exclusive solutions to help you identify the type and source of cocoa beans, detect the composition of chocolate, evaluate the authenticity of cocoa beans and chocolate, and minimize the risk of food fraud. For manufacturers, companies, etc., we can help you build brands, ensure that product labels are correct and compliant, and ensure food safety. We strictly abide by the quality assurance/quality control plans and regulatory requirements of each country and region to provide you with support.

Cocoa & Chocolate Test Items in Alfa Chemistry

• Variety purity detection and geographic traceability of cocoa beans
• Quantitative detection of cocoa butter and cocoa butter substitutes in chocolate
• Quantitative detection of polyphenols in chocolate
• Qualitative and quantitative detection of other chemical components in chocolate
• Chocolate microbiology test

Cocoa & Chocolate Testing Platform

• Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-Tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS): Labeling and component analysis of chocolate products.
• Near-infrared spectroscopy analysis: Qualitative and quantitative analysis of organic matter in cocoa beans and chocolate. It can be used for the variety and geographic traceability analysis of cocoa beans.
• ICP-MS: Quantitative determination of trace elements. It can be used for identification of cacao varieties and geographical tracing.
• IRMS-EA: Identify the geographic area of cocoa beans based on the age of soil protoplasm.
• HPLC-QToF-MS: It can be used for polyphenol analysis to distinguish the key biomarkers of unfermented and fermented cocoa beans.
• GC-MS: For the analysis of fatty acids in cocoa beans.

Turnaround Time: 7-10 working days.

At Alfa Chemistry, our analytical scientists are experienced in chocolate testing. After communicating with you about the testing scheme, we will implement it within a quick turnaround time and provide you with an analysis report. If you have any questions or specific needs, do not hesitate to contact us.