Organic RAW Cacao Bean Nibs Theobroma cacao Certified Organic & Kosher
We no longer carry this product due to possible long-term harmful sideeffects on human health. For more current information, search the webfor articles on the health effects on health of long-term consumptionof quantities or raw cacao beans.
Also, it seems that cacao beans that are generally advertised as raw aren'traw at all. Here's a letter from one of the suppliers.
Dear friends, customers and partners of Essential Living Foods,
This is a communication inspired by our need for transparency and integritywith you our beloved partners and allies in the health and superfoodnutrition industry.
I would like to share with you information that we have recently uncovered about issues regarding the cacao powderand butter processing from Ecuador and other parts of the world. Wehave been traveling around the world gathering all of the evidencenecessary to make an accurate statement.
This is a continuation of our commitment to transparency and revealing true and detailed informationabout the superfoods we provide to you.
We recently discovered very disappointing news that our cacao powder andbutter supplier was misleading us about the Low Temperatureprocessing they were using to extract our powder and butter.Fortunately, Essential Living Foods will soon be one of only twocompanies distributing a TRULY verified RAW cacao butter & cacaopowder sourced from Bali Indonesia, pressed under 118 degrees.
The Truth about Cacao Powder and Cacao Butter
A few weeks ago, one of the worlds leading chocolate experts (an oldfriend of ours) called to let us know hed been interviewed for anexpos article about the RAW cacao industry. Our friend had been askedto sample all the leading RAW cacao powder and butter brands (includingEssential Living Foods) and to give his opinion about which cacaopowders and butters were truly RAW productsprocessed under 120 degreesFahrenheit.
Soon after the taste test, our friend called to warn us that he didnt think our cacao powder was raw at all. In fact, none ofthe major brands he tasted could prove that their cacao powder wasprocessed RAW under 120 degrees F. He said there was only onemanufacturer (located in Bali) that had developed the machinerynecessary to produce a truly cold-pressed, RAW cacao butter and powder.
We were shocked to hear this, since we have a 6-year relationship with ourEcuadorian cacao supplier, and from the beginning they assured us thattheir cacao butter & powder were RAW, with specialtemperature-control processes involved.
Because of our commitment to Transparency & Integrity, we had verified nearly everythingabout our cacao products, visiting farms and cacao-bean-fermentationco-operatives, cacao nib processors, and more over the years. Everyfacility we ever visited was 100% Raw, Organic, and paying fair-tradewages to its workers...but we had never been invited nor did we demandto visit the butter/powder processing location.
We needed to know the truth for ourselves and our allies so we immediatelycalled our supplier to say that I was flying to Ecuador for aface-to-face explanation. When I arrived, however, our supplier refusedto let me inspect their cacao-powder processing facility: shockingbehavior from someone wed worked so closely with over the years. Wetold them that even though they would not let us see the facility, wewould find it and get the full story for ourselves and our customers.
The next day, I took our infrared laser digital-thermometer and flew tothe largest cacao-processing city in Ecuador to meet with severalprocessing companies, one of whom turned out to handle our own cacaopowder and cacao butter! Though this facility was clean, and certifiedorganic, we found out that they extracted all cacao powder and butterat temperatures no less than 200-300 degrees Fahrenheit!
We all know why this isnt ideal: heat degrades many nutrients andco-factors in foods, including antioxidants and enzymes. So why wouldanyone press RAW cacao at these temperatures? Simple: the machinesconstructed over the years to produce cacao butter and powder aroundthe world create high temperatures to reduce or eliminate microbes.
A Call for Transparency in the Superfood Supply Chain
This experience has inspired us to lead a movement to increase transparency in the superfood industry.Though certifications like Organic and Fair Trade are important, they dont say enough about the quality of the food on your plate...or thesupply-chain that gets it there. How is your food harvested, processedand transported? Is it carbon-neutral? Is it sold in ecologicalpackaging? Is it RAW? What impact does this product have on localcommunities?
In closing, we appreciate your efforts to help us create a healthier world through super nutrition, an improved quality of life on smallorganic farms and indigenous communities and promoting sustainableorganic agriculture across planet Earth.
With respect,
Kipp L. Stroden
Co-Owner
Essential Living Foods
updated by @jeff: 05/07/15 02:04:26
