Big Tree Farms, producer of Certified Organic and fair trade cacao is urging consumers to be aware of inferior cacao products that lack promised nutritional benefits.
Cacao has been labeled a ‘super food’ for its extremely high levels of antioxidants, magnesium and sulfur – however, these powerful properties are annulled when cacao is heated above a certain temperature.
To maintain cacao’s maximum nutrients, Big Tree Farms – employer of over 15,000 farmers in Indonesia – use the world’s only cold press system for cacao to keep the beans under 45˚C during the refining process.
“Unfortunately many other cacao products on the Australian market claim to be raw, but in fact their beans have been heated above 46˚C when pressed, which significantly diminishes any health benefits,” said Frederick Schilling co-founder of Big Tree Farms. There’s no doubt super foods have become big business. But with the growing demand, consumers need to be sure the so-called “super” they are paying for is genuine.”
Schilling advises the best way for consumers to determine if their cacao is raw is to look at the product’s fat content.
“A good quality cacao should have a fat content of approximately 30g per 100g serve,” explains Schilling. “However if a product’s fat content is below 15g per 100g serve this indicates the fat has been cooked out during the processing and the cacao simply isn’t very good for you.”