chocolate – News Stories About chocolate - Page 6

Jun 26, 2008 6:44 AM CDT

Quest on for Chocolate Genome

Mars aims to unlock genetic code to develop hardier cacao trees

(Newser) - Candy giant Mars is investing $10 million in a 5-year research project to unlock the secrets of chocolate's genetic code—the cocoa genome—as the first stage in developing cacao trees that can produce more, survive droughts, and combat disease. Mars intends to make the results public to stop key...

Chocoholics:
Science Wants You

Apr 29, 2008 7:37 PM CDT

Chocoholics: Science Wants You

Scientists hope chemical compound holds key to curbing heart disease

(Newser) - A bar of chocolate a day may keep heart disease away, Reuters reports—or so goes the theory British scientists want to test by recruiting 150 postmenopausal women willing to do their part for science. Eating one bar each day for a year will help study whether a key chemical...

Dark Chocolate Fends Off Pregnancy Problems

Apr 29, 2008 3:20 PM CDT

Dark Chocolate Fends Off Pregnancy Problems

Chemical helps prevent preeclampsia, study finds

(Newser) - Pregnant women who indulge in a daily treat of dark chocolate are cutting the risk of a serious complication, according to new research. Dark chocolate, rich in the chemical theobromine, helped prevent preeclampsia, a serious condition related to high blood pressure that affects up to 8% of pregnancies, the study...

Silicon Valley Startup Craves
Chocolate

Apr 23, 2008 11:18 AM CDT

Silicon Valley Startup Craves Chocolate

Tcho founders predict a coffee-like revolution for the sweet stuff

(Newser) - San Francisco startup Tcho has all the sweet Silicon Valley trimmings, the Economist reports; high-profile tech alums, online beta testing and stock options for all. But its product is even sweeter: top-quality chocolate. The company has developed a means to grade cocoa beans' complex nuances on a "flavor wheel,...

EU Probes Chocolate Price Fixing

Feb 20, 2008 6:22 AM CST

EU Probes Chocolate Price Fixing

Hershey, Mars, others suspected of conspiracy

(Newser) - The European Commission suspects candy giant Hershey of conspiring with other chocolate and candy manufacturers in an industry-wide price-fixing scheme, AP reports. Both Hershey and rival Mars recently received requests for information from the commission after some 50 civil lawsuits in the US have alleged price fixing. The two companies...

Bishops' Bright Idea: Give Up Carbon for Lent

Feb 5, 2008 12:05 PM CST

Bishops' Bright Idea: Give Up Carbon for Lent

Brits urge faithful to fast to cut emissions, fight global warming

(Newser) - For many Christians, Lent is a time to forgo chocolate or ice cream, but two senior British bishops have a better idea: “fasting” away your carbon footprint. “The poor are already suffering the effects of climate change,” says Liverpool’s bishop. “To carry on regardless of...

Campbell's Sells Godiva

Dec 21, 2007 11:59 AM CST

Campbell's Sells Godiva

Soup maker gets $850M, will focus on core businesses

(Newser) - To ensure that its bottom line stays “M'm! M'm! Good,” the Campbell Soup Company sold its upscale Godiva chocolate brand yesterday for $850 million. Yildiz Holding of Turkey beat out Starbucks and Hershey’s to nab the Belgian chocolatier, which racks up $500 million in annual sales, the...

Chocolate Makers Face Sticky Probe

Dec 20, 2007 5:25 PM CST

Chocolate Makers Face Sticky Probe

US and Canada investigate possible price-fixing

(Newser) - Following a similar investigation in Canada last month, the Justice Department has launched a probe into possible price-fixing in the US chocolate industry. The suspects form a rich, creamy lineup: M&M maker Mars acknowledged it has been contacted by the DOJ, the Wall Street Journal reports. Nestle, too, says...

Before It Was Chocolate,
It Was Beer

Nov 13, 2007 8:24 AM CST

Before It Was Chocolate, It Was Beer

Sweet treat traced to celebratory Honduran brew 3,100 years ago

(Newser) - Chocolate had its origins at least 3,100 years ago in Central America not as a sweet treat but as a celebratory beer-like beverage, reported scientists yesterday after analyzing residues from ancient pottery vessels. The earliest beverages made from cacao—the source of chocolate—likely were produced by fermenting the...

Study: Dark Chocolate Aids Chronic Fatigue

Oct 1, 2007 3:58 AM CDT

Study: Dark Chocolate Aids Chronic Fatigue

Treat may work by boosting brain's serotonin levels

(Newser) - A daily dose of dark chocolate noticeably improves symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, researchers have discovered. Scientists speculate that the chocolate may boost brain serotonin levels in sufferers, who reported significantly less fatigue when they ate 45 grams a day of chocolate high in cocoa content.

Dark Chocolate Gets Sweeter Every Day

Aug 22, 2007 1:10 PM CDT

Dark Chocolate Gets Sweeter Every Day

Milk chocolate's healthier sibling grows more popular than ever

(Newser) - Overall chocolate sales are down, but Americans are increasingly indulging their sweet tooth with dark chocolate. The bitter, coffee-flavored treat is on the rise: Last year, dark chocolate sales surged 15% while sales of more popular milk chocolate dipped 5.5%. And boosted by claims of health benefits, dark chocolate...

Campbell's to Shed Chocolatier

Aug 9, 2007 12:31 PM CDT

Campbell's to Shed Chocolatier

Soup shop hopes to sell distracting Godiva

(Newser) - Campbell's may be trimming some fat from its budget: Bloomberg reports the food company is looking to sell the luxe Godiva brand, which is weighing down on the more wholesome corners of its pyramid. Campbell's is intent on slurping up new markets in Russia and China, and the sweets trade—...

$600 Coffee 'Processed'
by Civets

Jul 13, 2007 5:49 AM CDT

$600 Coffee 'Processed' by Civets

Java-lovers' treat plucked from droppings of animals who gorge on beans

(Newser) - Move over, Starbucks. Hyper coffee connoisseurs are coughing up $600 for a pound of the world's priciest coffee, a blend plucked from the droppings of a civet, a small Indonesian mammal that forages for fresh coffee beans. Fans describe the taste of kopi luwak as earthy, with a note of...

Sweet Tooth Bolsters
Heart Health

Jul 4, 2007 5:06 AM CDT

Sweet Tooth Bolsters Heart Health

Even most tasty kinds of dark chocolate will lower blood pressure, study shows

(Newser) - More sweet news for chocoholics: Small doses of dark chocolate—even candy-aisle favorites like Dove or Hershey's—may reduce blood pressure by 2-3 points, new research shows. The study, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests commercial chocolate can provide some of the same benefits as...