Nickel: The new EU food safety regulation and what it means for the cacao and chocolate sector

Nickel levels in chocolate and 14 other food groups will be regulated for the EU market from 1 July 2025 due to potential health risks. Nickel is a metallic element that is found in Earth's mantle, that comes to the crust along tectonic plate boundaries and may enter the food chain due to natural an...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Atkinson, Rachel, Chavez Navarrete, Eduardo Francisco, Da Silva, Mayesse Aparecida, Dekeyrel, Jesse, Giraldo Carvajal, Maria Camila, Martin Lopez, Javier Mauricio, Pulleman, Mirjam, Smolders, Erik, Taborda Lozada, Darlley Stiven, Thomas, Evert
Format: Brief
Language:Inglés
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175442
_version_ 1855537960846360576
author Atkinson, Rachel
Chavez Navarrete, Eduardo Francisco
Da Silva, Mayesse Aparecida
Dekeyrel, Jesse
Giraldo Carvajal, Maria Camila
Martin Lopez, Javier Mauricio
Pulleman, Mirjam
Smolders, Erik
Taborda Lozada, Darlley Stiven
Thomas, Evert
author_browse Atkinson, Rachel
Chavez Navarrete, Eduardo Francisco
Da Silva, Mayesse Aparecida
Dekeyrel, Jesse
Giraldo Carvajal, Maria Camila
Martin Lopez, Javier Mauricio
Pulleman, Mirjam
Smolders, Erik
Taborda Lozada, Darlley Stiven
Thomas, Evert
author_facet Atkinson, Rachel
Chavez Navarrete, Eduardo Francisco
Da Silva, Mayesse Aparecida
Dekeyrel, Jesse
Giraldo Carvajal, Maria Camila
Martin Lopez, Javier Mauricio
Pulleman, Mirjam
Smolders, Erik
Taborda Lozada, Darlley Stiven
Thomas, Evert
author_sort Atkinson, Rachel
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Nickel levels in chocolate and 14 other food groups will be regulated for the EU market from 1 July 2025 due to potential health risks. Nickel is a metallic element that is found in Earth's mantle, that comes to the crust along tectonic plate boundaries and may enter the food chain due to natural and anthropogenic processes. Nickel is an essential nutrient for plants and used in seed germination, so nuts, seeds, or beans (including cocoa) will always contain some nickel. Data from 359 chocolate bars and nearly 3000 trees from across the world suggest that the new maximum regulated limits are mostly met. Chocolate with higher levels of nickel comes from specific areas and appears related to their geological origin. Reducing nickel uptake by cacao is unlikely to be easy, but liming may be helpful if the soils are high in nickel and acidic. Applying silicates should be avoided. For single-origin or bean-to-bar chocolate, it will be important to map nickel at a farm level to understand whether the mixing of beans or new recipes will be effective for compliance.
format Brief
id CGSpace175442
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2025
publishDateRange 2025
publishDateSort 2025
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace1754422025-11-05T12:10:29Z Nickel: The new EU food safety regulation and what it means for the cacao and chocolate sector Atkinson, Rachel Chavez Navarrete, Eduardo Francisco Da Silva, Mayesse Aparecida Dekeyrel, Jesse Giraldo Carvajal, Maria Camila Martin Lopez, Javier Mauricio Pulleman, Mirjam Smolders, Erik Taborda Lozada, Darlley Stiven Thomas, Evert theobroma cacao theobroma cacao inocuidad alimentaria heavy metals safety regulations metal pesado Nickel levels in chocolate and 14 other food groups will be regulated for the EU market from 1 July 2025 due to potential health risks. Nickel is a metallic element that is found in Earth's mantle, that comes to the crust along tectonic plate boundaries and may enter the food chain due to natural and anthropogenic processes. Nickel is an essential nutrient for plants and used in seed germination, so nuts, seeds, or beans (including cocoa) will always contain some nickel. Data from 359 chocolate bars and nearly 3000 trees from across the world suggest that the new maximum regulated limits are mostly met. Chocolate with higher levels of nickel comes from specific areas and appears related to their geological origin. Reducing nickel uptake by cacao is unlikely to be easy, but liming may be helpful if the soils are high in nickel and acidic. Applying silicates should be avoided. For single-origin or bean-to-bar chocolate, it will be important to map nickel at a farm level to understand whether the mixing of beans or new recipes will be effective for compliance. 2025-06 2025-07-02T09:50:11Z 2025-07-02T09:50:11Z Brief https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175442 en Open Access application/pdf Atkinson, R.; Chavez Navarrete, E.F.; Da Silva, M.A.; Dekeyrel, J.; Giraldo Carvajal, M.C.; Martin Lopez, J.M.; Pulleman, M.; Smolders, E.; Taborda Lozada, D.S.; Thomas, E. (2025) Nickel: The new EU food safety regulation and what it means for the cacao and chocolate sector. Clima-LoCa Briefing Note No. 5. Rome (Italy): Bioversity International; Cali (Colombia): International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), 11 p.
spellingShingle theobroma cacao
theobroma cacao
inocuidad alimentaria
heavy metals
safety regulations
metal pesado
Atkinson, Rachel
Chavez Navarrete, Eduardo Francisco
Da Silva, Mayesse Aparecida
Dekeyrel, Jesse
Giraldo Carvajal, Maria Camila
Martin Lopez, Javier Mauricio
Pulleman, Mirjam
Smolders, Erik
Taborda Lozada, Darlley Stiven
Thomas, Evert
Nickel: The new EU food safety regulation and what it means for the cacao and chocolate sector
title Nickel: The new EU food safety regulation and what it means for the cacao and chocolate sector
title_full Nickel: The new EU food safety regulation and what it means for the cacao and chocolate sector
title_fullStr Nickel: The new EU food safety regulation and what it means for the cacao and chocolate sector
title_full_unstemmed Nickel: The new EU food safety regulation and what it means for the cacao and chocolate sector
title_short Nickel: The new EU food safety regulation and what it means for the cacao and chocolate sector
title_sort nickel the new eu food safety regulation and what it means for the cacao and chocolate sector
topic theobroma cacao
theobroma cacao
inocuidad alimentaria
heavy metals
safety regulations
metal pesado
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175442
work_keys_str_mv AT atkinsonrachel nickeltheneweufoodsafetyregulationandwhatitmeansforthecacaoandchocolatesector
AT chaveznavarreteeduardofrancisco nickeltheneweufoodsafetyregulationandwhatitmeansforthecacaoandchocolatesector
AT dasilvamayesseaparecida nickeltheneweufoodsafetyregulationandwhatitmeansforthecacaoandchocolatesector
AT dekeyreljesse nickeltheneweufoodsafetyregulationandwhatitmeansforthecacaoandchocolatesector
AT giraldocarvajalmariacamila nickeltheneweufoodsafetyregulationandwhatitmeansforthecacaoandchocolatesector
AT martinlopezjaviermauricio nickeltheneweufoodsafetyregulationandwhatitmeansforthecacaoandchocolatesector
AT pullemanmirjam nickeltheneweufoodsafetyregulationandwhatitmeansforthecacaoandchocolatesector
AT smolderserik nickeltheneweufoodsafetyregulationandwhatitmeansforthecacaoandchocolatesector
AT tabordalozadadarlleystiven nickeltheneweufoodsafetyregulationandwhatitmeansforthecacaoandchocolatesector
AT thomasevert nickeltheneweufoodsafetyregulationandwhatitmeansforthecacaoandchocolatesector