Dark chocolate is a complex food product made from a blend of various ingredients and compounds.

Description of raw materials used in production. 

• The main raw materials used in the production of dark chocolate include cocoa mass, cocoa butter, and sugar. Some recipes may also incorporate soy lecithin as an emulsifier and a pinch of salt to enhance flavor.

Step-by-step summary of industrial production process.

• Harvesting and Fermentation. Cocoa beans are harvested and left to ferment for several days.
• Drying and Roasting. The beans are then dried and roasted to develop the chocolate flavor.
• Grinding. The roasted beans are ground to produce cocoa liquor.
• Mixing of Ingredients. Cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, and sugar are mixed according to specific recipes and proportions.
• Conching. The chocolate mixture is refined and aerated in a conching machine.
• Tempering. The chocolate is tempered through a controlled process of heating and cooling.
• Molding and Cooling. Finally, the tempered chocolate is poured into molds and cooled to form bars or other shapes.

Form and color. 

Dark chocolate generally appears in a solid form, with color ranging from brown to black, depending on the cocoa content.

Commercial applications. 

Dark chocolate is widely used in the food industry, in pastry, in the production of sweets, chocolates, and many other culinary applications.

Cocoa mass studies

As for the positive properties, from a health point of view, cocoa beans contain a significant amount of antioxidants: flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, catechins, epicatechins and in particular a phytosterol, beta-sitosterol to which are attributed protective actions on the development of cancer.

This study warns about the risk of high chocolate intake, which is positively associated with the risk of prostate cancer as total, advanced, localized and low-grade disease. However, the authors also pointed out that although high intake of antioxidants from supplements was associated with an increased risk for all prostate cancer subgroups except fatal cancer, this finding must be interpreted with caution because of the possibility of reverse causality (1). Which, if we interpret the study correctly, means that small amounts of cocoa have anti-inflammatory activity in our bodies, whereas excessive amounts may cause an adverse effect.

References____________________________________________________________________

(1) Russnes KM, Möller E, Wilson KM, Carlsen M, Blomhoff R, Smeland S, Adami HO, Grönberg H, Mucci LA, Bälter K. Total antioxidant intake and prostate cancer in the Cancer of the Prostate in Sweden (CAPS) study. A case control study. BMC Cancer. 2016 Jul 11;16:438. doi: 10.1186/s12885-016-2486-8.

Abstract. Background: The total intake of dietary antioxidants may reduce prostate cancer risk but available data are sparse and the possible role of supplements unclear. We investigated the potential association between total and dietary antioxidant intake and prostate cancer in a Swedish population....Conclusions: Total antioxidant intake from diet was not associated with prostate cancer risk. Supplement use may be associated with greater risk of disease.