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Puratos has released its first carbon-neutral chocolate product after its Chocolanté 60Days chocolate was awarded a Carbon Neutral certification. Belgian climate consultancy CO2logic independently assessed the greenhouse gas emissions of all production activities for 60Days chocolate, including the purchase of ingredients, transportation and energy consumption during manufacturing and packaging. The chocolate, created in Vietnam by joint venture Puratos Grand-Place Indochina (PGPI), was found to meet the requirements of the carbon-neutral standard. Gricha Safarian, managing director at PGPI, said: “We believe a great chocolate product must not only taste good but must also be produced in an environmentally-friendly way as far as possible. That is why we pursued carbon-neutral certification. Safarian continued: “Achieving it is a part of our wider sustainability commitments and a great stride towards achieving our carbon-neutral objective. At Puratos, our purpose is to move the planet forward together with our customers and this is a key step for the industry.” The chocolate combines fermentation in wooden acacia boxes with slow roast methods to create ‘tree to bar’ chocolate in 60 days. This process is said to generate lower emissions, thanks to its close-to-source production and short transition time. From a taste and quality perspective, consumers can expect a “fresher and more flavoursome product” with low sugar content. Chocolanté 60Days is currently available in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, France, and Belgium and will be available soon in Italy.