A healthier milk chocolate bar

How would you feel if you knew that the chocolate you were eating was made with food waste? Well it is a question being asked by the American Chemical Society because they believe that we should all be eating chocolate made with coffee grounds, peanut shells and other organic material usually thrown away as food waste. What is more by using such items in milk chocolate production it could actually-improve the chocolate’s antioxidant properties.

The research states that simply by adding trace amounts of so called ‘waste peanut skins’ and spent coffee grounds can bring milk chocolate up to or even exceed the anti-inflammatory providing antioxidants than dark chocolate. Furthermore, it shouldn’t have any negative effect on texture or taste of the product.

For the study researchers at the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service ground the food waste into a fine powder then extracted the phenolic compounds using a process with 70% ethanol. The phenolic powder was then mixed with maltodextrin, a common food additive and made into normal milk chocolate.

The process has yet to be approved for commercial use but could eventually led to a healthier milk chocolate bar.