An important development in the food industry is bringing about a potential change in the global cocoa market, as for the first time chocolate bars have been produced in the laboratory.

An Israeli start-up, Celleste Bio, with the support of the international food giant Mondelez (owner of brands such as Oreo, Cadbury and Toblerone), has introduced an innovation in the field of “food tech”, aiming to reduce the dependence on traditional cocoa production and the impact of climate change. in supply.

The company announced that it has produced 12 chocolate bars using “cell-cultured cocoa butter” at Cadbury’s Birmingham production facility.

This technology aims to offer an alternative to traditional cocoa farming, which is mainly concentrated in West Africa and has been significantly affected by extreme weather conditions and a lack of investment, factors that have also contributed to price increases in recent years. last.

The director of the company, Michal Beressi Golomb, stated to the Financial Times that the new product is not an artificial substitute, but “real chocolate created through a controlled laboratory process”, emphasizing that the produced ingredient behaves the same as traditional cocoa butter in industrial processes.

The production process starts from a small sample of cocoa cells, which are grown in specialized tanks and fed with sugars and substances nutritious, while producing the fats and aromas characteristic of natural cocoa.

According to the company, the goal is to obtain regulatory approvals in the US and Israel by the end of 2027, while the process in the European market is expected to take longer.

Cocoa prices have fluctuated significantly in 2024-2025, reaching from around $3,000 per ton to over $12,000, which has put pressure on large over the global chocolate industry.

Thus, large companies such as Mondelez, Lindt & Sprüngli and Cargill are investing in new production alternatives, to reduce dependence on the traditional cocoa market and guarantee long-term stability in supply.

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Source: prizrenpost