Cocoa beans/nibs may present biological food safety risks originating from raw cocoa beans. To address these risks, cocoa processing includes a validated process step designed to achieve sufficient pathogen log reduction, resulting in a ready-to-eat (RTE) product. In many processes, this validated treatment is applied at the cocoa bean or nib stage, while in other cases it may occur later, at the cocoa liquor stage. 

Cacao liquor, also known as cacao mass, is a viscous liquid produced through milling roasted cacao nibs. While an initial validated treatment step may already be in place earlier in the process, there are scenarios where an additional pasteurization step for the liquor may be required to ensure robust hazard control. However, the physical properties of cocoa liquor create significant challenges for pathogen-reduction treatments. Its high viscosity and fat content make it difficult to apply conventional pasteurization or thermal approaches uniformly without negatively impacting product quality and process efficiency. 

As a result, there is a need to explore effective, scalable, and validated approaches for achieving pathogen reduction in cocoa liquor while maintaining product integrity.