Dive Brief:
- A study published in the Heart medical journal reports that chocolate consumption could be linked to lower risk of cardiovascular disease and strokes as opposed to people who did not consume a particular amount of chocolate.
- The heart health benefits are said to come from the polyphenols contained in the cocoa beans used to make the chocolate. According to researchers, polyphenols have been shown to improve the health of blood vessels.
- A standard-size Hershey bar contains 43 grams of chocolate, which in theory means that consumers who eat one-half to two Hershey bars a day could be in the healthiest group of consumers in the study, those who ate 16 to 100 grams per day.
Dive Insight:
It's important to note that chocolate consumption is only associated with beneficial heart effects and has not been proven to have a cause-and-effect relationship.
But another issue remains: the global cocoa shortage. Widespread increased chocolate consumption plays a major role in the cocoa industry's current problem, in addition to weather conditions, tree diseases, and farming methods.
The cocoa supply was 19,000 metric tons lower in 2014 than the previous year, which could mean demand slightly outpaced net production in the 2013/2014 season. That deficit could increase to 1 million metric tons by 2020 and, by 2030, could hit 2 million metric tons, according to data from Mars Inc. and Barry Callebaut,. Consumers may want more chocolate today, but that could leave little to no chocolate available for the food companies who use it to make their products.