‘From soil to chocolate bar’: identifying critical steps in the journey of cadmium in a Colombian cacao plantation
Regulation of maximum levels of cadmium in chocolate is an issue for cacao exportation from many parts of Latin America, including Colombia. These limits are related to the final product, but buyers often request maximum levels of Cd in the beans. However, to date, there is neither a clear unders...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
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| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | Español |
| Publicado: |
Taylor & Francis
2025
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12324/41229 https://doi.org/10.1080/19440049.2022.2040747 |
| _version_ | 1854959777667350528 |
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| author | Bravo, Daniel Santander, Margareth Rodríguez, Jader Escobar, Sebastian Ramtahal, Gideon Atkinson, Rachel |
| author_browse | Atkinson, Rachel Bravo, Daniel Escobar, Sebastian Ramtahal, Gideon Rodríguez, Jader Santander, Margareth |
| author_facet | Bravo, Daniel Santander, Margareth Rodríguez, Jader Escobar, Sebastian Ramtahal, Gideon Atkinson, Rachel |
| author_sort | Bravo, Daniel |
| collection | Repositorio AGROSAVIA |
| description | Regulation of maximum levels of cadmium in chocolate is an issue for cacao exportation from
many parts of Latin America, including Colombia. These limits are related to the final product, but
buyers often request maximum levels of Cd in the beans. However, to date, there is neither a clear
understanding of the relationship between the specified levels of Cd in chocolate and cocoa
derivatives and levels in harvested beans or soil nor of the effect of post-harvest processes on the
levels of Cd in the final product. To address this, the fate of Cd concentration from soil to chocolate
bar was followed in a single farm in Santander district, Colombia. The concentration of Cd in
soils was measured using ICP-OES and correlated with soil pH, soil organic matter (SOM), and the
use of P-based fertilisers. Cd concentrations were also measured in unfermented seeds, fermented
and dried beans, shell, nibs, and chocolate. SOM (2.93–3.78%), soil pH (4.7–4.9), soil P concentration
(120–132mg kg 1) affect Cd availability. However, it is still unclear whether Cd concentration
of P-based fertilisers (3–30mg kg 1) is important or not. While post-harvest treatments did not
affect the Cd concentration of beans (4.17 ± 0.8mg kg 1 on average), the removal of the shell
(6.57mg kg 1) from the nibs (3.28mg kg1), as well as the percentage of cocoa mass used contributes
to a reduction in Cd concentration in the chocolate bar (1.60mg kg 1). This study provides
clear indications on where research into mitigation measures should be focussed, as well as
indicating the importance of carrying out analyses for Cd in the nib or cacao mass, rather than
the whole bean, reducing Cd concentration by up to 40%. |
| format | article |
| id | RepoAGROSAVIA41229 |
| institution | Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria |
| language | Español |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| publisherStr | Taylor & Francis |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | RepoAGROSAVIA412292025-09-16T03:01:59Z ‘From soil to chocolate bar’: identifying critical steps in the journey of cadmium in a Colombian cacao plantation Bravo, Daniel Santander, Margareth Rodríguez, Jader Escobar, Sebastian Ramtahal, Gideon Atkinson, Rachel Fertilización - F04 Theobroma cacao Cadmio Aplicación de abono Cultivo Cacao http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_7713 http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_1178 http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_10795 http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_1972 Regulation of maximum levels of cadmium in chocolate is an issue for cacao exportation from many parts of Latin America, including Colombia. These limits are related to the final product, but buyers often request maximum levels of Cd in the beans. However, to date, there is neither a clear understanding of the relationship between the specified levels of Cd in chocolate and cocoa derivatives and levels in harvested beans or soil nor of the effect of post-harvest processes on the levels of Cd in the final product. To address this, the fate of Cd concentration from soil to chocolate bar was followed in a single farm in Santander district, Colombia. The concentration of Cd in soils was measured using ICP-OES and correlated with soil pH, soil organic matter (SOM), and the use of P-based fertilisers. Cd concentrations were also measured in unfermented seeds, fermented and dried beans, shell, nibs, and chocolate. SOM (2.93–3.78%), soil pH (4.7–4.9), soil P concentration (120–132mg kg 1) affect Cd availability. However, it is still unclear whether Cd concentration of P-based fertilisers (3–30mg kg 1) is important or not. While post-harvest treatments did not affect the Cd concentration of beans (4.17 ± 0.8mg kg 1 on average), the removal of the shell (6.57mg kg 1) from the nibs (3.28mg kg1), as well as the percentage of cocoa mass used contributes to a reduction in Cd concentration in the chocolate bar (1.60mg kg 1). This study provides clear indications on where research into mitigation measures should be focussed, as well as indicating the importance of carrying out analyses for Cd in the nib or cacao mass, rather than the whole bean, reducing Cd concentration by up to 40%. Cacao-Theobroma cacao 2025-09-15T14:04:17Z 2025-09-15T14:04:17Z 2022 2022 article Artículo científico http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_2df8fbb1 info:eu-repo/semantics/article https://purl.org/redcol/resource_type/ART http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12324/41229 https://doi.org/10.1080/19440049.2022.2040747 reponame:Biblioteca Digital Agropecuaria de Colombia instname:Corporación colombiana de investigación agropecuaria AGROSAVIA spa Plan View 8727 193934 Aditivos y Contaminantes Alimentarios 39 5 949 963 Abt E, Fong Sam J, Gray P, Robin LP. 2018. Cadmium and lead in cocoa powder and chocolate products in the US Market. Food Addit Contam Part B. 11(2):92–102. doi: 10.1080/19393210.2017.1420700. Abt E, Fong Sam J, Gray P, Robin LP. 2018. Cadmium and lead in cocoa powder and chocolate products in the US Market. Food Addit Contam Part B. 11(2):92–102. doi: 10.1080/19393210.2017.1420700. Abt E, Robin LP. 2020. Perspective on cadmium and lead in cocoa and chocolate. J Agric Food Chem. 68(46): 13008–13015. doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.9b08295. Arg€uello D, Chavez E, Lauryssen F, Vanderschueren R, Smolders E, Montalvo D. 2019. Soil properties and agronomic factors affecting cadmium concentrations in cacao beans: a nationwide survey in Ecuador. Sci Total Environ. 649:120–127. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.292. Barraza F, Moore RET, Rehk€amper M, Schreck E, Lefeuvre G, Kreissig K, Coles BJ, Maurice L. 2019. Cadmium isotope fractionation in the soil – cacao systems of Ecuador: a pilot field study. RSC Adv. 9(58):34011–34022. doi:10. 1039/C9RA05516A Bravo D, Benavides-Erazo J. 2020. The use of a two-dimensional electrical resistivity tomography (2D-ERT) as a technique for cadmium determination in cacao crop soils. Appl Sci. 10(12):1–16. Bravo D, Braissant O. 2022. Cadmium-tolerant bacteria: current trends and applications in agriculture. Lett Appl Microbiol. 74:311–333. doi:10.1111/lam.13594. European-Union. 2021. The European Commission, Commission Regulation (EU) No 1323/2021 of 10 August 2021 Amending Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 as regards maximum levels of cadmium in foodstuffs. Off J Eur Union. In: Union OJE, editor. Belgium: Commission Regulation (EU). FAO/WHO. 2018. Joint FAO/WHO Food standards program, Codex committee on contaminants in food, 12th session, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 12–16 March 2018, Discussion paper on the development of a code of practice for the prevention and reduction of cadmium contamination in cacao. Netherlands. Gramlich A, Tandy S, Andres C, Paniagua JC, Armengot L, Schneider M, Schulin R. 2017. Cadmium uptake by cocoa trees in agroforestry and monoculture systems under conventional and organic management. Sci Total Environ. 580:677–686. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.12.014. Grant CA, Bailey LD, Mclaughlin MJ, Singh BR. 1999. Management factors which influence cadmium concentrations in crops. In: McLaughlin MJ, Singh BR, editors. Cadmium in soils and plants. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands; p. 151–198. Jackson E, Farrington DS, Henderson K. 1986. The analysis of agricultural materials: a manual of the analytical methods used by the agricultural development and advisory service. 3rd ed. Vol. 19871910457. London: HMSO Publications. John WA, B€ottcher NL, Aßkamp M, Bergounhou A, Kumari N, Ho P-W, D’Souza RN, Nevoigt E, Ullrich MS. 2019. Forcing fermentation: profiling proteins, peptides and polyphenols in lab-scale cocoa bean fermentation. Food Chem. 278:786–794. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem. 2018.11.108. Moore RET, Ullah I, de Oliveira VH, Hammond SJ, Strekopytov S, Tibbett M, Dunwell JM, Rehk€amper M. 2020. Cadmium isotope fractionation reveals genetic variation in Cd uptake and translocation by Theobroma cacao and role of natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 5 and heavy metal ATPase-family transporters. Hortic Res. 7(1):1–11. doi:10.1038/s41438-020- 0292-6. Mourato M, Pinto F, Moreira I, Sales J, Leit~ao I, Martins LL. 2019. Chapter 13 – the effect of Cd stress in mineral nutrient uptake in plants. In: Hasanuzzaman M, Prasad MNV, Fujita M, editors. Cadmium toxicity and tolerance in plants. London, UK: Academic Press; p. 327–348. Okiyama DCG, Navarro SLB, Rodrigues CEC. 2017. Cocoa shell and its compounds: applications in the food industry. Trends Food Sci Tech. 63:103–112. doi:10.1016/j.tifs. 2017.03.007. Método diagnóstico con la técnica ERT para estudiar la distribución y direccionalidad del cadmio en el subsuelo cacaotero Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0 Internacional http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ application/pdf application/pdf Taylor & Francis Bogotá (Colombia) Food Additives & Contaminants; Vol 39, Num. 2 (2022): Food Additives & Contaminants; p. 949-963. |
| spellingShingle | Fertilización - F04 Theobroma cacao Cadmio Aplicación de abono Cultivo Cacao http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_7713 http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_1178 http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_10795 http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_1972 Bravo, Daniel Santander, Margareth Rodríguez, Jader Escobar, Sebastian Ramtahal, Gideon Atkinson, Rachel ‘From soil to chocolate bar’: identifying critical steps in the journey of cadmium in a Colombian cacao plantation |
| title | ‘From soil to chocolate bar’: identifying critical steps in the journey of cadmium in a Colombian cacao plantation |
| title_full | ‘From soil to chocolate bar’: identifying critical steps in the journey of cadmium in a Colombian cacao plantation |
| title_fullStr | ‘From soil to chocolate bar’: identifying critical steps in the journey of cadmium in a Colombian cacao plantation |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘From soil to chocolate bar’: identifying critical steps in the journey of cadmium in a Colombian cacao plantation |
| title_short | ‘From soil to chocolate bar’: identifying critical steps in the journey of cadmium in a Colombian cacao plantation |
| title_sort | from soil to chocolate bar identifying critical steps in the journey of cadmium in a colombian cacao plantation |
| topic | Fertilización - F04 Theobroma cacao Cadmio Aplicación de abono Cultivo Cacao http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_7713 http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_1178 http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_10795 http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_1972 |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12324/41229 https://doi.org/10.1080/19440049.2022.2040747 |
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