A pharmacist at the Cocoa Clinic, of the Ghana Cocoa Board, in Accra has called for a national campaign to introduce cocoa into children’s menu at an early age.
Dr. Edward O. Amporful indicated that courting children’s interest in cocoa consumption was the right way to develop and sustain their interest in cocoa products.
He made the call when he addressed children during the monthly children’s entertainment show dubbed Fun World at the National Theatre in Accra.
According to Dr. Amporful, cocoa products, especially the dark chocolate, are full of nutrients and health benefits and are able to curtail some health challenges.
He noted how research has indicated that consuming cocoa had the propensity of improving the cognitive ability of consumers among others.
Dr Amporful recounted that research done in the U.S shows that most of the people who won the Nobel Peace awards in the world come from countries with history of high cocoa consumption.
He stressed that Ghana’s production of premium quality cocoa and cocoa products for the world market cannot be overemphasized.
“Ghana cocoa is the standard for measuring cocoa around the world making it the pacesetter for others to emulate. So, let’s consume the best quality that we produce for good health and nutritional benefits,” he added.
He noted that, though Ghana is the world’s largest producer of cocoa, the per capita consumption averages 5 grams and is far below cocoa consumption in the western world which stands at 8kg per capita.
By the end of his presentation, children who answered questions on cocoa were awarded with bars of chocolates.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana