faq

Cocoa Camino chocolate is a gourmet Swiss chocolate product that has won numerous awards for its quality. Our chocolate is slowly blended without the help of soy lecithin or other chemical emulsifiers, giving Cocoa Camino bars an exquisite and creamy consistency. In addition, all Cocoa Camino products are certified organic and Fair Trade Certified. This means that the ingredients have been produced in an environmentally sustainable manner and that Fair Trade prices and premiums have been paid to farmers for their cocoa and sugar.

Cocoa beans are actually the seeds of the cocoa pod or fruit and grow on a small tree. The organic cocoa used in Cocoa Camino products is grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Similar to organic coffee, it is grown in the shade of other trees, often fruit trees. The shade-grown method is important because it helps maintain a sustainable eco-system and the soil remains rich. Learn more about shade grown agriculture.

The process for making organic chocolate after harvesting the organic beans is similar to the process for making other premium chocolate. Essentially once the organic cocoa pods are harvested, the cocoa beans are removed, fermented and then dried. From there they are shipped to an organic manufacturer that roasts and grinds them, and transforms the beans to cocoa mass and cocoa butter – the essential ingredients for making chocolate.

Yes. Our chocolate bars, hot chocolate mixes and baking cocoa are all certified kosher:

• Chocolate Bars, Couverture & Cocoa Butter: Rabbi Abraham Hochwald
• Hot Chocolate: Kashruth Council of Canada (COR)
• Cocoa Powder: Kashruth Council of Canada (COR) (224 g canisters & 5 kg bulk bags) & Rabbi Don Yoel Levy (25 kg bulk bags)
• Chocolate Chips: Kashruth Council of Canada (COR) (227 g pouches) & KOF-K (10 kg bags)
• Cocoa Mass: Rabbi Don Yoel Levy .

Our chocolate should be kept in a cool, dry environment with a temperature of 16-20°C (60-68°F). If the storage temperature exceeds this amount, or there is a sudden fluctuation in the temperature, “bloom” may appear on the product. Blooming involves either the accumulation of cocoa butter or crystallisation of sugar on the surface of the chocolate. Bloom is characterized by a whitish cast on the chocolate and, while it may look abnormal, bloomed chocolate is fine to eat.

Our cocoa is free of genetically modified ingredients. In addition, the milk powder is produced with no rBGH - recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone - an artificial hormone that is commonly given to cows to increase their milk production.

Unlike other brands, our cocoa does not contain any:

• Corn syrup solids
• Vegetable oils
• Chemicals such as sodium caseinate, dipotassium phosphate, sodium silicoalaluminate, mono- and diglycerides
• Artificial flavors.

Organic Golden Cane Turbinado sugar crystals are derived from cane juice that is first squeezed from organic sugar cane stalks, and then evaporated, concentrated (or crystallized) and dried using a centrifugal dryer system. There are no chemical additives added and no bleaching (via sulphur-dioxide) of the sugar occurs. The transformation of sugar cane to organic sugar cane juice crystals is different from refined sugar in that it is typically 50% less processed, thereby containing slightly more molasses than conventionally refined sugar. It is also not refined with bone char and is therefore suitable for vegans.

Organic sugar has the added benefit of also being healthier for the environment as there are no harmful chemicals, pesticides, or herbicides used during the harvesting or processing of organic sugar cane. These organic practices help protect our environment by eliminating polluting chemicals from entering our soil, groundwater, plants and atmosphere as organic standards do not allow for crop burning.

Yes. Our sugar is certified kosher by:

• Kashruth Council of Canada (COR): 3.5 g sachet, 454 g pouch & 5 kg bulk bag
• Rabbi Levi Feigelstock: 25 kg bags.

Yes. The same certification and monitoring system is used. The certifying body in Canada is called TransFair Canada, which is the only organization in Canada affiliated with the international regulatory and standard setting body, the Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO).

The difference is in the regulatory practices. Fair Trade ensures guaranteed minimum prices above world market prices and ensures that these prices are adhered to through independent third party monitoring. In addition farmers are ensured good working conditions and receive social premiums. These premiums go toward infrastructure such as plant nurseries, support services for farmers, schools, hospitals, roads, water and electricity that many rural communities in developing countries cannot afford.

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The Fair Trade logo on our products is a customer guarantee that small-scale cocoa and sugar farmers are paid a fair above-market price for their crops and that high labour and environmental standards are followed in their production. There are regular third-party audits of both the buyers (La Siembra Co-op) and sellers (the producers we work with) to ensure that the principles of Fair Trade are being followed and that criteria, such as fair prices and safe working conditions, are being met. Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) is the international Fair Trade umbrella certification group that ensures Fair Trade criteria are adhered to through auditing. In Canada, you know that a product has undergone the FLO monitoring process when you see the TransFair Canada logo:

In addition to relying on FLO standards and guarantees, La Siembra visits with its producer partners to better understand how premiums are being re-invested into communities and to view first-hand the positive impact that Fair Trade has on farmers and their families. Visit the Fair Trade page for more information about the premiums we pay to our producer partners.

Six cooperatives of small-scale, organic family farmers in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Peru, Paraguay and the United States, plus two worker cooperatives in Canada (La Siembra) and the US (Equal Exchange) benefit from sales. These groups include:

• CONACADO (Confederación Nacional de Cacaocultores Dominicanos): www.conacado.com.do
• CACVRA (Cooperativa Agraria Cafetelera del Valle Rio Apurimac): www.cacvra.com
• Three co-ops of small-scale sugar cane farmers.
  • Paraguay: Manduvira Co-operative, Association de Cañicultores Organica de la Zona Central
  • Costa Rica : Asoprodulce Co-operative
• The Organic Valley Cooperative of Family Farms: 600+ organic farmers across eighteen US states who produce their own brand of organic dairy products, soymilk, meat, eggs and orange juice. We use their organic dried milk powder in our US private label hot chocolate mixes. www.organicvalley.coop
• Equal Exchange: A worker-owned co-operative based in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts. La Siembra and Equal Exchange work closely in solidarity within the Fair Trade movement to bring quality Fair Trade and organic products to North American markets. Like La Siembra, Equal Exchange identifies with producer partners through the adoption of a co-operative business model. Equal Exchange works with La Siembra to source and produce their hot chocolate, chocolate and sugar products. www.equalexchange.com

We produce our current line of chocolate bars and other chocolate-based products in Europe (excluding hot chocolate, which is produced in Ontario and chocolate chips, which are produced in the United States) for the principal reason that there have historically been no viable organic chocolate producers in North or South America that meet our needs of quality or scale. Nearly every organic and premium bar on the market is produced in Europe. That being said, we are proud to be working with one of the leading Fair Trade ingredient sourcing companies in Europe (Pronatec) and sourcing our chocolate from a small, family owned, organic chocolate factory in Switzerland that produces some of Europe's finest quality chocolate.

Shade grown agriculture works by intermixing a crop with shade-giving trees. When used in conjunction with cocoa production, a natural shade canopy becomes an integral part of both protecting species living in cocoa producing areas, as well as ensuring healthy soil. Decomposing foliage from shade producing trees provides fertilizer for crops, and the creation of a bird habitat provides a natural form of pest protection. In addition, cacao flowers are pollinated exclusively by midges (small, gnat-like flees) which prefer moist rain forest to sunny plantations. For products that are free of pesticides and full of rich flavour, this technique is appreciated by a wide array of users in the production of hot chocolate, baked goods, fine chocolates and numerous other manufactured products. Read more about Shade grown agriculture.

The inner wrapper that seals in the freshness of our chocolate is made from polypropylene. It uses less energy to create than aluminum foil, even when recycled, and overall is far less polluting than aluminum.

As a worker co-op our company is owned and controlled democratically by is workers. Membership is open and voluntary and requires that workers (a) invest in the co-op financially and (b) participate in its governance. Worker-owners each have a vote in member meetings, are entitled to run for board elections and have the opportunity to participate in key organizational decisions.

We choose to identify with our producer partners by adopting the same democratic, participatory and transparent model that they employ.

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