UNIVERSITY OF READING PRODUCES FIRST BRITISH-GROWN CHOCOLATE BAR SINCE 1932

The University of Reading has produced the Reading 100 Chocolate Bar, made entirely from British-grown ingredients including cocoa cultivated in Berkshire. The chocolate bar marks the university's centenary and represents the first chocolate bar made from British-grown cocoa since 1932, when Rowntrees produced one gifted to the then-Princess Elizabeth. According to the university, that 1932 bar was the only other British-grown chocolate bar ever made, making the late Queen the sole person in history to have consumed one.

Food security master's student Maha Khan crafted the chocolate using cocoa harvested from the University of Reading's International Cocoa Quarantine Centre. The Berkshire-based centre houses over 300 cocoa varieties and manages 97 per cent of global cocoa plant movements to prevent disease spread. The cocoa was grown at the centre itself, alongside British-sourced milk and sugar to complete the bar's ingredients.

The 94-year gap between the 1932 bar and the Reading 100 reflects the absence of chocolate production using domestically grown cocoa in Britain during that period. The university stated that the new bar demonstrates the viability of cocoa cultivation within the United Kingdom, using facilities and expertise already established at its quarantine centre.