FSM 374: Food Safety and Chocolate

Transcript [ Music ] Welcome to Food Safety in a Minute, I’m Susie Craig. Chocolate and Valentines Day go hand in hand. With low water activity and high fat content, chocolate is considered a low-risk food. However, food processors follow Good Manufacturing Practices and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point systems to ensure food safety. This includes established parameters for the control of raw materials, especially cocoa seeds and milk powder. Processors also monitor roasting temperatures of cocoa seeds needed to reduce microbial loads for food safety. Heavy metals, specifically cadmium and lead have been found in some dark chocolate and cocoa products in the United States. We’ll learn more about that in an upcoming episode. Remember, if you have allergies to ingredients sometimes used in chocolate, always check the label. From Washington State University Extension, this is Food Safety in a Minute. [ Music ] Resources Camire, Mary Ellen (University of Maine). Institute of Food Technologists, Food Facts (2016). Chocolate 101. https://www.ift.org/career-development/learn-about-food-science/food-facts/chocolate-101. Assessed online 1/8/26.