8.6 Inspection, sampling, documentation and traceability

The introduction of residue monitoring will clearly add a major new aspect to the implementation of cocoa quality standards. 

A summary of the complexities of the supply chain can be found on https://www.icco.org/trading-shipping/ and improved inspection and monitoring procedures are primarily a matter of concern for cocoa traders and their associations (such as the FCC and CMAA). 

Reference is made here to rules for sampling and quality as defined by the FCC (www.cocoafederation.com).

In order to pass as high-quality fermented beans, an assessment is firstly made of cocoa bean numbers for a given weight and the proportion of foreign matter. 

A ‘cut test’ follows by bisecting them lengthwise through the middle, in order to assess the proportion that are mouldy, slaty (indicating under-fermentation), purple (over fermented), insect damaged, germinated or flat beans. 

In addition, there are standards for moisture content (typically below 7.5-8%: as determined by International Confectionery Association [ICA] analytical method No. 43), free fatty acids (FFAs: ICA analytical method No. 42) and ‘off flavours’ (ICA analytical method No. 44).

‘Contamination’ is currently defined as “cocoa which has smoky, hammy or other off-flavour taste or smell, or which contains a substance not natural to cocoa”. 

In the past therefore, the focus has been on contaminants associated with artificial drying of cocoa, but consideration is now being given to other sources that might be introduced at any stage along the supply chain. 

Beside pesticide residues, monitoring may take place for other contaminants, including presence of:

• mycotoxins, including ochratoxin-A (OTA) - are produced by fungi (and are usually orders of magnitude more toxic than pesticides and may therefore be due partly to failures in pest management),
• poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) - which can result from cocoa beans coming into direct contact with smoke, for example during artificial drying using badly designed or poorly maintained driers,
• heavy metals (often associated with cocoa grown on volcanic soils or use of poor-quality fertilizers).

The initiatives being put in place to improve traceability were described in Chapter 3: Certification. The structure and length of the cocoa supply chain differs from region to region within the same producing country, as well as across producing countries. 

Methods of warehousing and shipping also vary, which will inevitably influence the point and level of sampling. Not every possible pesticide will be examined in every shipment, of course. 

Different levels of sampling will take place, according to different criteria and practical considerations (e.g. see section 5.7), but inevitably, it will be necessary to improve traceability of cocoa consignments.

For example, anecdotal reports suggest that the need to control insects has encouraged “risk averse” traders and middlemen to apply pesticides un-necessarily before intermediate points of sale, and thus raise the risk of residues being detected. 

It follows that review of procedures along the supply chain in cocoa growing countries will be required, in order to avoid a record of ‘positive’ residue tests.