300th Fairtrade chocolate product certified for Chocolate Week

The Fairtrade Foundation has certified the 300th chocolate product to carry the Fairtrade Mark to coincide with Chocolate Week, running all this week.

The Foundation has also announced that sales of Fairtrade cocoa products for the quarter April to June 2008 grew by 24 per cent from £5 million to £6 million for the same period last year. At the same time volume sales, the real indicator of the amount of Fairtrade premiums that go back to producer groups to spend on community development projects such as schools and clinics, have increased by 17 per cent.

The Fairtrade Foundation singled out the Divine Marc de Champagne Milk Chocolate Truffles as the perfect Fairtrade chocolate item to enjoy during Chocolate Week. The 200g boxes contain 16 hand-finished milk chocolate truffles with a champagne ganache and are made from cocoa grown by cocoa farmers from Kuapa Kokoo co-operative, Ghana.

Rachel King, Business Development Manager at the Fairtrade Foundation, said: "You don't usually need an excuse to eat chocolate, but here's the perfect one to get you going: an entire week dedicated solely to chocolate! And you'll find it all the sweeter for knowing that the farmers have received a fair price for their cocoa."

Chocolate Week, the annual national celebration of chocolate, is sponsored by Divine Chocolate in collaboration with the Academy of Chocolate. There will be talks, tastings, demonstrations, launches of new chocolates, chocolate fountains and sculptures and foodies will be able to find out more about chocolate, its origins, cocoa beans, how it is made and also taste the finest chocolate in the world.

Cocoa is an important world commodity, produced and consumed around the globe. However, the fluctuation of the world market price have posed real obstacles to earning a decent livelihood for the millions of farmers working to cultivate cocoa on small family farms in equatorial regions, said the Foundation. Many who live in villages lack access to clean water and health care and struggle to support their families.

Fairtrade guarantees farmers a minimum price for their cocoa, and the additional Fairtrade premium helps give them the opportunity to invest in tackling the issues they face.

The first Fairtrade chocolate product went on sale in the UK in 1994. The Co-operative switched all their own label block chocolate to Fairtrade in 2002, resulting in a 50 per cent sales volume uplift in the 12 months following the move. The Co-operative's milk chocolate bar was the UK's first own-brand Fairtrade Mark product launched in 2005. Currently, 21 per cent of cocoa and 18 per cent of dark chocolate sold by the major multiples is now Fairtrade.

Isidoro de la Rosa, from Conacado cocoa co-operative in the Dominican Republic said: "With Fairtrade income we were able to implement a fermentation programme to improve the quality of our cocoa and to convert our production to certified organic. This improved our position in the export market. The Fairtrade market is a very important market for the survival of our members."

The Co-operative, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Tesco, Somerfield, Marks & Spencer and Morrisons all sell own brand Fairtrade chocolate lines and all list Divine Chocolate or Maya Gold, Green & Black's only Fairtrade certified product. A wide range of Fairtrade chocolate is also available online and through specialist wholesalers, delis and department stores such as Selfridges and Liberty. Both organic and conventional cocoa are available as Fairtrade, from a variety of beans sourced from West Africa and Latin America.

This year, Divine Chocolate celebrates its 10th anniversary and the Co-operative celebrates its 5th year of category switch to Fairtrade.

On the web: www.chocolate-week.co.uk