Abstract

Due to the limited supply and high cost of gum Arabic, cashew gum (CG) was assessed as a quick coating agent in the production of chocolate pebbles, using gum from both young and mature cashew trees. Acute toxicity tests on rats did not reveal any abnormal changes attributable to ingestion of CG. Pebbles produced with CG samples were compared with those produced with gum Arabic. The ash contents of the three products ranged from 2.37 to 2.63% and the moisture content from 2.33 to 2.76% whilst the sugar concentration ranged from 26.05 to 29.66%. The microbial status of the three products conformed to specifications of the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC). Physico-chemical parameters determined showed significant differences among the three products (p < 0.05). Sensory analysis showed no significant difference among products in terms of flavour, hardness and smoothness. The overall acceptability of the products were similar and the mean scores were 7.4, 6.8 and 7.1 for pebbles produced with gum Arabic, that produced with cashew gum from young and mature trees respectively. On a 9-point hedonic scale, this range varies from “like moderately” to “like extremely”. Pebbles produced with cashew gum compared favourably with that produced with gum Arabic.

Key words: Cashew gum, gum Arabic, chocolate pebbles, acute toxicity.