Cocoa shell is the shell of the cocoa bean. Cocoa beans are about the size of a broad bean, dark brown in colour and grown mainly in West Africa.
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Uses
Cocoa Shell is a superb garden mulch and soil conditioner. The vaste majority of the product is used as a garden mulch, although some gardeners dig it into sandy or clay soils as it is excellent at moisture retention and breaking up heavy soils. As a mulch it is used as a top cover in any beds, generally after planting, although it is simple to plant through the mulch.
Benefits
Waste shells from cocoa processing are rich in fibre and antioxidants and carry great potential as food ingredients, according to Australian plantation-to-bar manufacturer Daintree Estates.
Cautions
Dr. Maureen McMichael is a veterinarian at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Urbana who specializes in emergency and critical care. She says, “Cocoa mulch is significantly more toxic than milk chocolate or even baker’s chocolate because it has quite a bit more theobromine in it.” Theobromine is the toxic compound in most chocolates that is responsible for the clinical signs seen in pets after ingestion.
Interactions
None are recorded.
Other names
n/a
Reference
Source: SunshineGarden, http://www.sunshine-garden-products.com/products/cocoa%20shell/cocoa_shell.htm
ConfectionaryNews, http://www.confectionerynews.com/Ingredients/The-cocoa-shell-is-a-magnificent-piece-of-material-that-hasn-t-been-exploited-Daintree-Estates
SaturdayEveningPost, http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2010/04/29/health-and-family/pets-animals/hidden-dangers-cocoa-mulch.html