A team of researchers at Penn State will identify and compare key microbial communities in cacao fermentation, a vital transformative process that helps freshly harvested cacao beans turn into chocolate, to develop an adaptable starter culture - a cocktail of live microorganisms to kick-start and guide the fermentation process. The study, focused on fermenting high-quality cacao beans in Ecuador and Hawaii, will be funded by an agreement with the U.S. Department of State.
The agreement comes through the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, which was selected by the U.S. Department of State to host and lead a new Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Coffee and Cacao (CCIL); the program is co-led by Clemson University in South Carolina. This agreement of up to five years included an initial obligation of $8 million for the first year, with the possibility of an extension.
Cacao fermentation - in which naturally occurring microorganisms such as yeast and bacteria grow and interact with the beans, breaking down sugars and producing alcohols, acids and many other flavorful compounds - currently relies on spontaneous microbial interactions. Those changes often result in inconsistencies affecting cacao quality and export value, according to team leader and co-principal investigator at Penn State Helene Hopfer, associate professor of food science in the College of Agricultural Sciences.
"Commercial starter cultures use a one-fits-all approach and are unable to replicate the unique contribution of local microbial communities to region-specific chocolate flavor development," she said. "By developing regionally adaptable cultures for both a massive export economy like Ecuador and a high-value niche market like Hawaii, this project could provide scalable solutions that protect and enhance the economic value of fine-flavor cacao."
Co-principal investigator Josephine Wee, Lester Earl and Veronica Casida Career Development Professor for Food Safety, has collaborated with cacao fermentation expert Juan Manuel Cevallos Cevallos, professor at Polytechnic University of the Litoral (ESPOL) in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Their work has focused on how to make the cacao fermentation process more consistent.
