CRC offers this above service only locally at the moment but would like to offer it regionally in the future. This service is offered in four packages. In the first package the client samples his/her cocoa beans according to CRC guidelines and supplies the bean to the quality management laboratory facility. CRC conducts physical quality assessment and a preliminary sensory assessment and offers a certificate of quality. In the second package CRC conducts all of the above but also provides a detailed sensory assessment certificate based on tasting by a sensory panel. In the third package CRC offer all the above but also offers the clients chocolates made from the sample of beans. In the final package CRC in addition to the above visits the clients’ facility and supervises the sampling process.
With its reference DNA fingerprint database of the international genebank and other cultivated landraces, together with a state of the art Fluidigm SNP genotyping platform, CRC offers this analysis service in three different packages. In the first package the clients selects cocoa material based on our guidelines and sends it to us for DNA fingerprinting. The DNA fingerprints are then dispatched to the client. In the second package, in addition to the DNA fingerprinting we offer data curation and analysis services. The client receives in addition to the DNA fingerprint, a complete analysis and interpretation of the data to support implementation. In the third package, we sample at the clients site, label and obtain GPS information, obtain passport data as well as offer fingerprinting, data curation and analysis services and provide a GPS based map of the genetic diversity. The latter is the most expensive of the packages. Clients seek this information for various purposes, to support their branding, to develop a genebank, to characterize the diversity that is resident in a country or to correctly identify varieties. This is offered as an international service.
Research and Development Impact Fund
UWI St. Augustine
Tel: (868) 662-2002 ext.
Email: cru@sta.uwi.edu
