UKfirm develops chocolate biofuel
Ecotec has developed a method of turning waste products from chocolate processing, usually dumped in landfills, into biofuel, according to Reuters.
The firm first turns the waste into bio-ethanol, then mixes it with vegetable oil to produce biodiesel, the news agency said.
Biofuels are a controversial topic in the food world, as rising commodity costs are often attributed to clearing fields or flattening forests to grow bio crops.
However, as chocolate waste is a by product of another process, Ecotec's product is environmentally friendly, said spokesman Andy Pag.
According to Reuters, a truck fuelled with the chocolate by-product will travel to Mali on a charity mission later this month.
Pouch delivers pre-melted chocolate
Chocolate lovers who enjoy a runnier chocolate treat will no longer have to melt the chocolate themselves, as a US firm has designed a squeezable pouch containing molten chocolate 'lava'.
"The lava bar has a consistency similar to a chocolate ganache, or frosting at room temperatures," said manufacturer Lava chocolate.
Although the product can be eaten, or rather drunk, just as it is, the company also suggests pouring it on ice-cream or fruit.
Currently on sale on-line, the product will soon be sold at convenience stores across the US, the company said, after winning awards across the country.
First middle-eastern chocolate show takes place
Sweets Middle East, the region's first trade only confectionery show, will take place later this month, giving manufacturers from all over the world access to a $4.2bn market.
The area has an ever increasing need for imports of chocolate and sweets "to fill the gap between limited domestic food production and demand from a growing production base," the organisers said.
"Furthermore, the Middle East ranks among the areas with some of the highest per capita GDP's in the world," they added.
The show will be attended by manufacturers from over 27 countries, ranging from Western chocolate producing nations such as Belgium, Germany, France and the US, to Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirites.
The show will take place between the 18 and the 20 November in Dubai.
