Updated: March News & AMA | #PSC 186
OVERVIEW: Episode 186 of #PodSaveChocolate features chocolate and cocoa news fit to eat, as well as the monthly live AMA (Ask Me Anything about chocolate or cocoa) for March 2026.
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This episode streamed live on Friday, March 6th, 2025.
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Episode 186 Overview
In this episode: Chocolate News thatās Fit to Eatā¢ for March, 2026!
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People participating live can Ask Me Anything in the chat at any point during the episode.
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The March Member AMA call is scheduled for Sunday, the 15th, beginning at 11:00 am Arizona time (keep in mind this is after Daylight Saving Time happens here in the US, so your time may change). The link to participate will be in the March member newsletter.
The Ongoing Saga of the Cost of Cocoa
| MARKETS |
|---|
| Futures Prices / Futures Overview ā Barchart.com |
| Graph ā Trading Economics |
| ICCO Pricing Stats |
| Reality Check #1: The Ghanaian government, via Cocobod, cut the official farmāgate price to 41,392 Ghana cedis per metric ton for the remainder of the 2025/26 season. The Ivorian government announced a sharp reduction in the guaranteed price to 1,200 CFA francs per kilogram, i.e. 1,200,000 CFA per metric ton. At current mid-market FX, Ghana ā $3,833/MT and Ivory Coast ā $2,120/MT. |
| Reality Check #2: Is āTogetherCocoaā Big Chocolateās next new bright shiny attempt at greenwashing (and market collusion)? Is it an admission that World Cocoa Foundation initiatives are ineffective and feckless? Google News |
The Continuing Cases Against Big Chocolate | #PSC 183
OVERVIEW: Episode 183 features an interview with Terry Collingsworth of International Rights Advocates, updating the (legal) cases against Big Chocolate in the US. Along the way, weāll take a look at their history, too. [ Updated ]
Clay Gordon
Recent related coverage on TheChocolateLife.
More News
| File It Under | browsing headlines |
|---|---|
| Googley | News |
| Chocolate Honey | From Brazil |
| Recall | Rhino Choco VIP 10X (Brooklyn) FDA |
| Recall | Lockout Supplements (TX) FDA |
| Recall | MondelÄz Brookies ā FDA |
| Recall | Spring & Mulberry ā FDA |
Added Resources
Mentioned during the episode.
March News & AMA | #PSC 186 | Clay Gordon
We donāt know much about #TogetherCocoa ā no more than a press release and some embarrassingly fawning surface-level industry coverage of the release ā but that is going to change with todayās episode of #PodSaveChocolate, during which it will be a primary topic of my coverage. One thing I can confidently predict is that the executive hires and board appointments the TogetherCocoa Foundation makes will tell us everything we need to know about how serious they are. The Why: The hiring and appointment processes are one of the few hard levers TogetherCocoa controls on day one. If they get this wrong, the āmore of the sameā critique will stick ... no matter what else they do. The What: The combination of structural design (bylaws, quotas, conflict of interest guidelines), process transparency (how people are chosen), and incentive alignment (what leaders are paid to achieve) is what will ultimately determine whether āmore of the sameā is a fair critique. Ā»Ā»Ā» If TogetherCocoa is serious (and smart), those decisions need to be made ā and made public and subject to public comment ā before the first photo op. Some Stats: The five founding companies combined for over US$87 billion in turnover (according to Candy Industry Magazineās 2025 Top 100 compilation). Three of the five are headquartered in the US, and the other two are in Switzerland. Mars and MondelĆ©z are currently in court in the US in a consumer protection lawsuit alleging they knowingly misrepresented their efforts and successes in eradicating illegal labor in their cocoa supply chains in W Africa. A Question: Does anyone else see the potential for continued abuse of market power by TogetherCocoa? The who:
The Hershey Company
Mars
MondelÄz International
NestlƩ
Lindt & SprĆ¼ngli
Terry Collingsworth https://lnkd.in/gT2U3JHm
Clay Gordon
This is my post on TogetherCocoa. It references this episode which is why the preview is the same.
Evaluation of the Thermal Inactivation of a Salmonella Serotype Oranienburg Strain During Cocoa Roasting at Conditions Relevant to the Fine Chocolate Industry - PMC
Cocoa roasting produces and enhances distinct flavor of chocolate and acts as a critical control point for inactivation of foodborne pathogens in chocolate production. In this study, the inactivation kinetics of Salmonella enterica subsp. entericaā¦
A recent paper on the topic
TL;DR
- A reduction of >5 log10 CFU/bean can be achieved with 10-min roasting at 150Ā°C.
- The predicted times needed to achieve a 5-log10 reduction of Salmonella at temperatures of 100, 110, 115, 120, 130, and 140Ā°C were 239, 146, 95, 53, and 10 min, respectively.
- Increasing the ambient humidity in the roasting chamber will shorten these times. E Coli was not separately tested but is assumed to be equally susceptible.
Future Episodes
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Tuesday, March 10th
2026 Craft Chocolat Challenge Preview with Dustin Cornett
2026 Craft Chocolat Challenge Preview with Dustin Cornett
Episode Hashtags
#News #AMA #AskMeAnything
#cocoa #cacao #cacau
#chocolate #chocolat #craftchocolate
#PodSaveChoc #PSC
#LaVidaCocoa #TheChocolateLife
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