Carriage of cocoa

Cocoa beans

Cocoa beans are the dried seeds ofthe cocoa pod, which is the fruit of thecocoa tree grown in tropical regionsof the world.

The cocoa bean is generally of a grey todark brown appearance (external greyappearance not necessarily being indic-ative of inferior quality), the outer shellbeing brittle and the inner nib being theimportant part of the cocoa bean. Cocoabeans emit an acidic odour (variableaccording to origin), the nib having theodour reminiscent of chocolate (of whichit is an important constituent).

Cocoa beans are used primarily in thehuman food chain with alternative usesin cosmetics and, to a limited extent, inpharmaceuticals. The shell is normallydiscarded, being more or less valueless.The inner nib is used to produce cocoabutter, cocoa liquor, cocoa cake, cocoapowder.

It is generally accepted that a moisturecontent of maximum 7.5 per cent isindicative of stable cocoa beans.

Traditionally cocoa beans are packedinto jute bags of 60 to 65 kg nett per bagand subject to sanitary certification priorto shipment. In view of the fact that cocoabeans and jute bags are an ideal mediumfor harbouring infestation, fumigation isfrequently carried out prior to shipment.

Ideally, cocoa beans should beshipped in well-ventilated conditions particularly for transportation fromthe warm tropical producing areas tothe invariably much colder destinations.

When shipped in traditional break bulkstowage, adequate ventilation in generalshould be allowed with ample dunnageand, in particular, bags should not be

Carefully to Carry

The carrier shallproperly and care-fully load, handle,stow, carry, keep,care for and dis-charge the goodscarried.

Hague Rules,Articles iii, Rule 2

Carefully to CarryAdvisory Committee

This report was produced by the Care-fully to Carry Committee the UK P&IClubs advisory committee on cargomatters. The aim of the Carefully toCarry Committee is to reduce claimsthrough contemporaneous advice tothe Clubs Members through the mostefficient means available.

The committee was established in1961 and has produced many articleson cargoes that cause claims andother cargo related issues such ashold washing, cargo securing, andventilation.

The quality of advice given hasestablished Carefully to Carry as a keysource of guidance for shipownersand ships officers. In addition, thearticles have frequently been thesource of expertise in negotiationsover the settlement of claims and havealso been relied on in court hearings.

In 2002 all articles were revised andpublished in book form as well as ondisk. All articles are also available toMembers on the Club website. Visitthe Carefully to Carry section in theLoss Prevention area of the Clubwebsite www.ukpandi.com for moreinformation, or contact the LossPrevention Department.

Traditionally cocoa beans are packed intojute bags.

stowed directly in contact with the ships side or bare steel-work and should be given adequate head space for ventilation.It is imperative that vessels used should have ventilationcapable of a sufficient number of air changes per hour withinthe cargo holds.

The usual air changes recommended are between 10/20changes per hour. The required ventilation of a Cocoa cargorequires a proper regime of ventilation to be drawn up andimplemented based on external air temperatures, cargotemperatures, relative humidities with details recorded.

Respiration and post fermentation factors result in cocoabeans evolving carbon dioxide. Care should be taken whenentering enclosed spaces.

When shipped in containers it is preferable that fully ventilated/super ventilated containers are employed, these containerspreferably being lined with rattan matting, and/or kraft paperand bags being correctly stowed therein in order to allowventilation.

The containers themselves should be subject to carefulinspection to confirm their integrity and cleanliness, freedomfrom taint etc. However, neither shippers nor consigneescan dictate to the carriers the stowage location of containerson board the carrying vessel nevertheless, under-deckstowage within cargo holds which are well ventilated is thebest which can be offered.

The use of bags of a moisture absorbing desiccant materialis commonplace within containers but, once saturated, theyserve no further purpose.

When cocoa beans are shipped in non-ventilated or dry vancontainers there is no control over the ventilation of thecontents.

Dry van containers are subject to condensation problemsresulting from cargo being loaded in warm climates withtemperatures of 25C upwards and then shipped to colderclimates in Northern Europe, USA etc. The main cocoashipping season is during the European winter.

The mechanics of condensation forming in containers arewell established and various attempts have been made toreduce the effects but with limited success.

It is frequently found, when cocoa beans are shipped with ahigher than desirable moisture content, that the incidence

of condensation with resultant wetting and deterioration(mostly by way of mould to the cocoa beans) increasesconsiderably.

It is customary that, during receiving bags of cocoa beans,any bags exhibiting external wet stains and/or externalcontamination are segregated by the receivers.

Bags which have become wet damaged may be externallystained and/or mouldy,and cocoa beans within wet bagsmay show signs of external bloom (white spotting) as aresult of the wetting as well as subsequent mould growthdevelopment. In instances of heavy wetting the beans willbecome blocked together.

If the bags are found to be contaminated with foreignsubstances this should, wherever possible, be identifiedand/or analysed as to its likely properties, particularly ascocoa beans invariably are destined for use in the humanfood chain.

Cocoa beans from wet damaged bags can be subjected toa reconditioning operation (but only if acceptable to finalreceivers who, if they are food manufacturers, may beunwilling and/or unable to accept reconditioned cocoa),sound Cocoa Beans (skimmings) having a lower value foruse in alternative (normally non-food) outlets.

Apart from standard containers, cocoa beans may also beshipped in open or flat-rack containers, or bolsters which areessentially containers without side walls or roof. The bagsare stacked upon the base of these containers to which theyare secured by means of lengths of timber, held in place bysteel bands around the girth of the stow. This is an effectivemethod of shipping cocoa beans in bags provided that:

the bags are well stowed on the flat-rack

the securing timber is clean and dry

the securing steel bands do not cut into any bags

bags do not overhang the base section of the container, and

there are tarpaulin covers available at both the load-portand the dis-port which may be used to cover over thefully laden bolster or flat-rack container at times whenrainfall is experienced.

Shipment of cocoa beans in bags on bolsters allows full allround ventilation, and therefore allows the dispersal ofmoisture (from the cocoa) and hence represents a wellproven and effective method of shipment of cocoa beansin bags.

Containers should be lined, preferably with rattan matting and/orkraft paper.

Bags which have become wet damagedmay be externally stained and/or mouldyand cocoa beans within wet bags mayshow signs of white spotting and mould.

There has been a more recent development in the shipmentof cocoa beans in bulk within the cargo holds of vessels/containers/barges (Bacoliners) The reason for shipment inbulk are primarily economic e.g. a standard 20 foot containercan carry approximately 13 tonnes of cocoa beans in bagsas opposed to approximately 18 tonnes in bulk.

In some instances a crust of mouldy cocoa beans forms onparts or all of the surface of the cargo, which if possibleshould be removed and segregated in order to maintainthe good overall quality of the bulk.

Cocoa beans are shipped in bulk containers (which are oftenplywood-lined) these being non-ventilated containers - onceagain, in some instances, a crust forms on the top of the bulk.However, it is very difficult (more or less impossible) to separatethe crust within the container and may have the effect ofreducing the quality of the bulk overall when discharging.

Care must, therefore, be taken in discussing with consignees/receivers ways of solving the problem effectively. It ispossible for some receivers to blend cocoa beans, thereforean allowance for depreciation can be negotiated in respectof bags which contain a percentage of damaged cocoa beans.If cocoa beans are destined for storage for sampling andsale to the Liffe Terminal Market reconditioning is notpermitted, i.e. the reconditioned sound cocoa beans willnot be accepted on to the terminal market.

Damaged cocoa beans generally retain a good salvage value.

Cocoa butterCocoa butter in its pure prime pressed form is producedfrom cocoa beans by way of pressing the inner nib of thecocoa beans. Cocoa butter, the most valuable product ofcocoa beans, usually has a distinctive chocolate-like odourand is of a cream colour, being customarily packed intoblocks of 25 kg nett weight and packed within polythene-lined fibreboard cartons. Cocoa butter is normally shippedwithin containers in such packaging.

Cocoa butter will be susceptible to the effects of heatingand will become soft and malleable at 30-32C, and willmelt at 32-35C. Having become warm or molten, it canretain the latent heat and remain in such a condition downto as low as 17C. Depending upon the structure of the constituent fats, the effect of heating cocoa butter is to raise

the FFA (free fatty acid) level which, in turn, affects the fatstructure and thus t