Many of us love chocolate, but due to its high fat content, we must resist eating as much as we would like. There have been several efforts to reduce the fat content in the past. But removing even small amounts of fat have been unsuccessful because in the liquid state when fat is removed from the chocolate, the consistency of the chocolate changes and the mixture clogs the processing equipment.
However, scientists at Temple University have found a way to reduce the fat content of chocolate. They run an electric field through the chocolate in the same direction as the flow, rather than the conventional perpendicular method. This reduces the viscosity and allows the fat to be removed. (Temple University has a patent on the process.)*
It is estimated that soon we will be seeing the fat level in chocolate reduced by 10-20 percent.
.
*Gerrard, Jeremy, Scientists find ‘shocking’ way to reduce fat in chocolate, Food Engineering, June 28, 2016.
