08:58 | Lima, Nov. 06 (ANDINA).
Cocoa producers from Peru's northern Tumbes region have won an International Cocoa Award (ICA) at the recent Salon du Chocolat in Paris.
The Regional Association of Cocoa Producers of Tumbes (Arprocat) was one of the fifteen recipients of the coveted ICAs, which are part of the Cocoa of Excellence Programme.
Cocoa of Excellence is the entry point for farmers to participate in the Salon du Chocolat's International Cocoa Awards, the only competition of its kind rewarding the work of cocoa farmers and celebrating the diversity of cocoa flavors all over the world.
The awards also aim to provide international recognition for origins of extraordinary cocoa and to stimulate industry linkages to the providers of special cocoa origins.
Arprocat is made up of 324 cocoa farmers working in the provinces of Tumbes and Zarumilla. The association has about 600 hectares of land, of which 400 are currently in production.
According to Peru's Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, the ICA for best cocoa in South America is the result of Arprocat's coordinated work with public and private sector organizations.
About the ICAs
Participation in the competition is based on cocoa rather than processed chocolate, the organization can standardize the chocolate making process and judging can focus on the quality of the cocoa.
For the International Cocoa Awards, cocoa producing countries are invited to submit well-prepared fermented and dried bean samples, which reflect genetic and geographic origins of their regions.
These are processed into liquor for evaluation by six sensory analysis experts, who select the 50 best samples, which are then processed into chocolates. These samples are evaluated by 33 expert jury members, including professional chocolatiers and sensory evaluation experts.
For the 2013 International Cocoa Awards, 15 chocolates were selected and celebrated at the Salon du Chocolat, including associations in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Madagascar, Togo, Malaysia, Vietnam, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, Bolivia and Venezuela.
(END) LVT/DLG/EEP
Published: 11/5/2013