Cocoa
Koko of Malaysia

• 100,000 hectares of cocoa plantations by 2010
  Malaysia Ministry of Plantation Enterprises and Commodities has targeted some 100,000 hectares of cocoa plantations throughout the country by the year 2010. Currently  only 33,000 hectares were in existence in Malaysia.
• Sharp decline in Tawau
  The local cocoa industry in Tawau had shown a sharp decline lately. Most plantation companies were no longer interested in cocoa cultivation due to low pricing, coupled with extensive labor, compared with the oil palm industry. Cocoa trees were cut down for new ventures.
• Scheme grants for smallholders
  Sabah had been producing 65 per cent of Malaysia cocoa production. Malaysian Cocoa Board has schemes for smallholders, such as providing scheme grants and special hybrids to help them revive their cocoa ventures.

• Proposed Methodology to Determine Source and Level of Lead Contamination in Cocoa
  One of the items examined at the Twenty-fourth Session of CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION in Geneva, Switzerland in July n2001 was the Draft Revised Standard at Step 8 for Cocoa Butter (ALINORMO1/14, Appendix IV). The proposals were to reduced the levels of contaminants of lead (PB) from 0.5mg/kg to 0.1mg/kg for cocoa butter and 2mg/kg to 1mg/kg for cocoa mass and cocoa powders.
  
   
• Chocolate and Health
  Can Chocolate/Confectionary products fit into a healthy diet?  That is diet that provides the appropriate proportions of energy from carbohydrates, fat and protein and meets our requirements for vitamins and minerals?  The answer is yes. 
   
• Health, Nutritional, Medicinal and other uses of Cocoa
  A listing of web sites and articles regarding health, nutritional, medicinal and other uses of cocoa

History of Cocoa

• Chocolate and cocoa are made from the beans of the cacao tree, which apparently originated in the foothills of the Andes in the Amazon and Orinoco basins of South America. The tree was introduced into Central America by the ancient Maya, and was cultivated in Mexico by the Toltecs and later by the Aztecs.
• Cocoa was an important commodity in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Spanish chroniclers of the conquest of Mexico by Hernán Cortés relate that when Moctezuma II, emperor of the Aztecs, dined he took no other beverage than chocolate, served in a golden goblet and eaten with a golden spoon. Flavored with vanilla and spices, his chocolate was whipped into a froth that dissolved in the mouth. No less than 50 pitchers of it were prepared for the emperor each day, and 2000 more for nobles of his court.
• Chocolate was introduced to Europe by the Spaniards and became a popular beverage by 1700. They also introduced the cacao tree into the West Indies and the Philippines. It was used in alchemical processes, where it was known as Black Bean.
• Today, most of the world's crop of beans is grown in equatorial Africa, especially on the Gold Coast, and a small amount in South America, chiefly Brazil. The use of chocolate, cocoa and other products is world-wide. Belgium has the highest per capita consumption of cocoa at 5.5 kg, ten times the world-wide average .

Natural Cocoa Powder is made from well-fermented and roasted cocoa beans.

Then the beans are spread out, constantly raked over, and dried. On large plantations this is done on huge trays, either outdoors by sunshine or in sheds by artificial heat. However, thousands of tons from smaller producers are dried on small trays or on cowhides.

Finally, the beans are trodden and shuffled about (often using bare human feet) and sometimes, during this process red clay mixed with water is sprinkled over the beans to obtain a finer color, polish, and protection against moulds during shipment to factories in the United States, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and other countries. About 3,000,000 tones of cocoa are grown each year. The Netherlands is the leading cocoa processing country, followed by the U.S.

Export of cocoa beans from Sabah  declines since 1995 and its started to increase in 2001.  In 2002 volume of cocoa beans exported amounted to 21,109 tones valued at RM110.24 million.

Producing chocolate : To make 1 kg of chocolate, about 300-600 beans are processed.

Cocoa powder : Cocoa powder is made from thick creamy paste by removing part of its fatty oils with a hydraulic press or by using the Broma process. With starch and sugar added, the liquor is churned and beaten in a "Conges" machine to produce sweet chocolate.

Some of the cocoa products made in Malaysia :

Export of intermediate cocoa products from Sabah consists of cocoa butter, cocoa powder and cocoa liquor. In 2000, export amounted to 5.3 million. Sabah’s import of chocolate products in 2002 amounted to RM16.7 million.