Image of cocoa beans in various states

New Study Could Help Trace Cocoa Beans Back to Their Farm of Origin

A new study reveals that biomarkers could help cocoa farmers get a better deal for their beans

Written byUniversity of Surrey
| 2 min read
Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
2:00

A new study from the University of Surrey has revealed that biotechnology could be the missing ingredient in helping cocoa farmers get a better deal for their beans.

Chocolate is a £61 billion-per-year ($84.81 billion) global industry that has seen the volatile price of cocoa lead to a surge in traders seeking to buy cheaper beans from deforested regions, with lower quality plants, and human rights abuses. This has affected the prices and practices of legitimate farmers, reducing sustainability gains.

Lab manager academy logo

Advanced Lab Management Certificate

The Advanced Lab Management certificate is more than training—it’s a professional advantage.

Gain critical skills and IACET-approved CEUs that make a measurable difference.

In the findings, published in the journal Supply Chain Management, the multi-university research team reveal that biomarkers can create “meta-barcodes,” which are like biochemical fingerprints, an unchanging barcode extracted from the plant’s DNA, providing a unique identifier of a plant that is also observed in its beans and subsequent chocolate products. The biomarker of cocoa beans used in chocolate manufacturing could accurately identify the farm, production facility, or cooperative where a cocoa product came from.

To make this new process a reality, a controlled data set of biomarkers of registered locations is required for audit. The study goes on to explain that this missing piece—a biomarker database that identifies the origin of cocoa products, can be built by companies at an estimated cost of £5 ($6.9) per sample—around the cost of a box of chocolates.

Glenn Parry, professor of digital transformation at University of Surrey, said: “The chocolate market has become turbulent, and we have evidence of over 100 years of slavery in the supply chain. Governments and chocolate producers are faced with an ethical challenge and drastically need to improve a trade that is rife with environmental destruction and human misery.

“We have an effective approach for them to make progress. We demonstrate that biomarkers can provide supply chain visibility from the individual farm to the retail chocolate bar. This solution could now be within reach, where the journey of the chocolate in your fridge could be traced back to the cocoa trees where it began.” 

Want to stay up to date on the latest lab management news?

Subscribe to our free Lab Manager Monitor Newsletter.

Is the form not loading? If you use an ad blocker or browser privacy features, try turning them off and refresh the page.

By subscribing, you agree to receive email related to Lab Manager content and products. You may unsubscribe at any time.

- This press release was provided by the University of Surrey

Loading Next Article...
Loading Next Article...

CURRENT ISSUE - May/June 2025

The Benefits, Business Case, And Planning Strategies Behind Lab Digitalization

Joining Processes And Software For a Streamlined, Quality-First Laboratory

Lab Manager May/June 2025 Cover Image