Over the years scientists have painstakingly mapped the DNA genome of humans, corn, turkeys and now chocolate. A researchers funded by McLean Candy Company (Mars) is almost done sequencing the genome of the cacao tree, which produces the seeds used to make cocoa.
Researchers are hoping that the information will speed up the process for creating a stronger tree that is more resistant to disease and easier to grow.
The real question is… Does this mean better-tasting chocolate? A McLean scientist said that it might. He noted that some eaters have complained that the quality of cocoa has fallen, but no one knows whether that is because of soil, weather or genetics. At least one of the keys to flavor is the fatty acid content of the cocoa. “Now finally, we have insight on how to stabilize it and raise it over time,” Shapiro said.
Brazil used to be one of the top producers of cacao, until a fungus called witches’-broom struck the crop in the late 1980s and devastated the country’s industry. Now more than 70 percent of the world’s cocoa supply comes from West Africa.
This project stated in 2008, when Mars, in partnership with IBM and the USDA, committed $10 million to the project.
