Springwise Take
Spotted: Chocolate may be one of the world’s favourite treats, but the industry is rife with ethical and sustainability issues. One of those concerns is waste. Making up 10-17 per cent of the cocoa bean’s weight, shells constitute a sizeable portion of the crop – a portion that’s most often discarded, despite the fact that cocoa bean shells (CBS) are full of methylxanthines and phenolics.
These compounds have valuable antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and positive cognitive properties, but are not being harnessed to their full potential, with over 700 thousand tons of cocoa bean shells (CBS) thrown away worldwide every year. Recognising this, Felipe Sanchez Bragagnolo and other researchers from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) wanted to make better use of cocoa waste by producing chocolate-flavoured honey.
Typically, extracting resources from CBS relies on solvents and multiple (often environmentally unsustainable) purification steps. Instead, Bragagnolo took inspiration from his hobby as a stingless beekeeper and decided to try stingless bee honey as an extraction solvent. Because of its lower viscosity, compared to Apis mellifera (the western honey bee) alternatives, stingless bee honey enables more efficient mass transfer and makes it a more effective natural solvent.
The researchers employed an intensified extraction technique, using ultrasound in addition to the honey solvent, to draw out valuable compounds. In tests, the honey was shown to effectively dissolve and recover methylxanthines and phenolics from CBS, while also enhancing its own antioxidant capacity. The result was a tasty, chocolate-flavoured honey with important antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Talking to Springwise about next steps, Bragagnolo explained that the team aims to “assess the microbiological safety and stability of the enriched honeys, and evaluate consumer acceptance and sensory qualities. We also plan to use stingless bee honey to extract bioactive compounds from other natural sources, expanding this approach to a wider range of sustainable ingredient development.”
Matilda Cox