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Chocolate

What To Look For

Conventional cocoa is frequently grown with an abundance of harmful pesticides under conditions that threaten biodiversity. In West Africa, low pay for growers has led to underpaid workers and even child trafficking. Though the U.S. organic chocolate market has increased to $70.8 million, up 49 percent from 2006, organic chocolate sales are still only a fraction of the $6 billion total, and Fair-Trade chocolate sales remain a meager 1 percent of the world chocolate market. Look for products bearing one of the certifications below, and read more about their importance in The Backstory.

Certified Organic

"Certified Organic" chocolate must be grown without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers on land that was free of such chemicals for three years prior to certification. To be certified organic, the farm must also utilize a sustainable crop rotation plan to prevent erosion, the depletion of soil nutrients and control for pests. The USDA's National Organic Program is the primary organic certifier in the U.S., but you may also see a USDA-accredited certifier such as Quality Assurance International, that abides by USDA's criteria.

Fair Trade

The "Fair Trade Certified" label is a third-party certification administered in the U.S. by TransFair USA, a member of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO), and it means that cacao beans were purchased directly from growers or their cooperatives at a price higher than the commodity market rate. Both growers (including producer groups and cooperatives) and importers can be certified, and certification ensures that the price paid per pound of beans never falls below $0.10 more than the current market price. Currently, Fair Trade-certified farmers are paid the FLO-established price of at least $0.80 per pound, $0.89 if it's certified organic. Certification also imposes some environmental-protection standards on growers, including a ban on the most hazardous pesticides such as DDT, methyl parathion and lindane (For more on these pesticides, see "The Backstory"), and the use of integrated pest management techniques, such as growing cacao under shade canopies. Fair Trade-certified importers must also provide pre-financing credits to growers when needed to help them comply with certification requirements. The higher wages allow farmers to invest in health care, education, community development and environmental stewardship. Keep in mind that Fair Trade certification on a chocolate bar guarantees that the cocoa beans have been certified but not necessarily other ingredients like sugar.

Rainforest Alliance

Combining aspects of the certifications above, the Rainforest Alliance (RA) focuses on how farms are managed rather than how beans are traded, covering all aspects of production including environmental protection, worker rights and welfare and the interests of local communities. Certification requires that at least 40 percent of the cacao-growing plantation has to be covered in shade at all times in areas where the original natural vegetative cover is forest, which allows for wildlife preservation and a reduction of pesticides, but they do allow the use of some agrochemicals when pest-related damages would be greater than the farmer could cope with economically. They do, however, prohibit pesticides that are banned by the EPA, the EU and those that are on the Pesticide Action Network Dirty Dozen list and a few other international environmental program lists. RA-certified cacao farms must also pay workers, including minors, at least the local minimum wage, provide safe working conditions and implement measures to reduce minors participation in the harvest. While only a minimum of 30 percent certified content is required for products to display the "Rainforest Alliance Certified" label, retailers are required to state the percentage of certified content next to the label.