ILLKIRCH-GRAFFENSTADEN, France—Researchers from the Laboratoire de Chimie Analytique et Sciences de l’Aliment have shown that testing the volatile components in chocolate can yield results that improve the reliability of tracing chocolate to its source of origin. The results of this research were published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
The French researchers, using hydrodistillation, as well as gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, were able analyze volatile compounds in various types of chocolate—each with a single source of origin—to determine where it had come from, whether the Caribbean, Africa, South America, etc.
The researchers also identified seven compounds in chocolate that can serve as chemical tracing agents that can help to further dial-down a chocolate’s origin.
