Chocolate is a luscious treat beloved by children and adults alike. Europeans make half of the globe’s annual chocolate purchases, but Americans also consume almost a quarter of the world’s chocolate treats each year. As for the holidays, adults often give a box of chocolates to their sweeties, friends, or corporate clients. And a 2020 Statista survey revealed that 74 percent of U.S. parents plan to tuck candy, chocolate, and gum into their child’s holiday stocking – far outranking small toys, cash, or other stocking stuffers.
Prime Fresh Handling (PFH), a global perishable shipping company, plays a vital role in the handling and shipping of both cacao beans (seeds) and manufactured chocolates. “We’re highly experienced at international transport of fine organic dark cacao beans from Ecuador to the United States and then beyond,” says Christina Moscoso, General Manager of PFH-West Coast.
Up River Quality
Cacao has been grown since ancient times in Ecuador, where it grew wild in the Amazon region, and today has burgeoned into an important agricultural industry. While Ecuador supplies only 4 percent of all cacao produced globally, what’s notable is that the country supplies 63 percent of the world’s high-end, “fine flavor” cacao.
Famed for its purity, this cacao has been given its own class, Arriba (translation: “upriver”). The beans are used to make refined chocolates, and the cacao variety is distinguished by such flavors and fragrances as prunes, blueberries, citrus fruit, nuts, malt, jasmine, or even violet flowers. Ecuador also produces other cacao varieties such as CCN51.
Cacao beans (or seeds), the raw material used in chocolate production, are highly temperature-sensitive and must always be kept dry. “Even unloading it briefly in a warm environment could mean the risk of condensation, which would denigrate its quality,” Moscoso says. “In turn, being transported in sub-zero temperatures could result in textural changes or crystallization too. Our skilled PFH team strives to assure that never happens.”
Every Detail Counts in Shipping Chocolate
In fact, they’re unremitting in maintaining the high quality of the cacao in handling and shipping. Typically, the cacao beans are transported at a temperature of 60.8-64.4°F (16-18 6°C), and humidity is under 50 percent. It’s also important that the shipments aren’t positioned in an area of “odors” such as diesel fuel.
So, it’s not as simple as putting the cacao in a shipping container. PFH handlers, cool chain management services, must also assure the cacao shipping container isn’t placed at the top of a ship’s cargo deck where it could receive direct solar heat or below deck near the vessel’s engine tanks.
Did you know PFH also handles and transports the “finished” product – chocolates heading from manufacturing facilities to its wholesale or retail grocery store clients? It’s true. “Again, temperature monitoring and careful handling are absolutely imperative,” she says, noting that chocolate melts at 86-90°F degrees, varying based on the chocolate mixture. In addition, liqueur chocolates can’t tolerate any frost, as the liquid filling will expand – cracking the outer shell.
Wine and Chocolate: Pairing is Caring
With great care and attention to detail though, those tasty chocolates reach PFH customers and soon after, the “choco-licious treats” are displayed on retail shelves, being purchased and gobbled up by consumers, who also use them for gift giving. In this holiday period, some people opt to pair chocolates with wine – perhaps at a holiday event for friends and family members.
Shipping and handling for wine is another specialty of Prime Fresh Handling. “We provide expert handling of wine shipments for our wholesale clients, wine distributors, retail stores, and restaurant industry customers,” she notes: “We know the ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ of the complex regulations associated with wine shipments, as well as how to handle wine shipments for proper temperature control and to avoid breakage.”
So, whatever customers need to handle and ship – from cacao beans to boxes of chocolates and bottles of wine, Moscoso emphasizes that “it’s a great idea to give Prime Fresh Handling a jingle as we’re ready to assist and answer all your questions. See how we can help your business.”
Global Perishable Shipping & Logistics Services
Whether it’s a box, a pallet, or a companywide logistics operation, PFH is highly skilled in achieving safe on-time delivery of temperature-sensitive material and products between any point of origin and destination around the globe.
In fact, PFH is also known as a global leader in perishables transportation of fresh produce shipping, fish, cut flowers, and plants. With state-of-the-art facilities in Europe, South American, and across North America, PFH leverages industry-leading technologies such as vacuum cooling, sorting, re-packing, barcoding, labeling, and temperature monitoring to guarantee a consistent, safe, and fresh delivery.
Give Us A Jingle for All your Chocolate Shipping Needs
For information, contact PFH General Manager-West Coast Cristina Moscoso at 323-328-8650, via email at cristina.moscoco@primeair.aero, or explore our website to learn about all our perishable shipping solutions.
