In 2007,approximately 3.5 million tons of cocoa beans were produced,worth approx.US$5.5 billion.Cocoa beans are the dried,fermented seeds of Theobroma cacao L.,and the key ingredient in chocolate manufacture.At a time of increasing demand for premium grade cocoa beans,the quality of cocoa sold on the global market remains highly variable.The major cause of inconsistent quality is poor control of cocoa fermentation and drying.The lack of technological improvement to cocoa fermentation is in sharp contrast with progress made in production of other fermented foods such as bread,cheese,and soy products.In these industries,the application of food science and technology principles has led to the development of well controlled and industrialised processes