PCT Guamá and CVACBA present innovations at the Chocolate and Cocoa Festival
Center for the Valorization of Bioactive Compounds of the Amazon (CVACBA) promotes a contest that highlights the best chocolates produced in Pará
The Science and Technology Park (PCT) Guamá, in partnership with the Center for the Valorization of Bioactive Compounds of the Amazon (CVACBA), linked to the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) and installed in the complex, will present the results of developments with cocoa during the "Amazon Cocoa and Chocolate Fair 2025". The event, considered the largest in Latin America in the segment, will take place from June 5 to 8 at Hangar – Center for Conventions and Fairs of the Amazon, in Belém.
According to João Weyl, president of the Guamá Foundation, the science and technology institution that manages the park, participation in the event will be a strategic opportunity. “CVACBA, like all laboratories at PCT Guamá, offers a range of services capable of serving various sectors of the industry at different scales. This event is a showcase for us to demonstrate how the laboratory operates with high standards of quality, contributing to the strengthening of the regional economy and science. Pará is a powerhouse when it comes to cocoa, and CVACBA is a reference in this scenario.”
Promoted by the State Government and the Faepa/Senar System, the festival aims to highlight Pará as a protagonist of a new development model, based on the reconciliation between economic prosperity and environmental preservation. The expectation is to attract more than 50,000 visitors over the four days of programming.
In addition to the wide exhibition of local, national, and international brands, the event will feature a technical program focused on discussions about sustainable production, innovation, and bioeconomy.
Currently, Pará is home to about 32,000 active cocoa producers, distributed over 229,175 hectares of planted area, of which 169,655 hectares are already in full production.
Amazônia Origin Chocolate Contest
As part of the Fair's program, another edition of the Best Para Chocolate Contest, coordinated by CVACBA, will be held. The initiative aims to value local production and recognize the excellence of chocolates made in the state, highlighting the potential of the Pará cocoa production chain.
Exhibitors at the fair who produce chocolates with ingredients
from Pará municipalities, free from preservatives and artificial additives, can participate. The products must be commercially available and fit into one of the three established categories: Intense Chocolate (65% to 90% cocoa), Milk Chocolate (35% to 65% cocoa), and Innovation Product, which rewards the creative use of Amazonian ingredients of the genus Theobroma.
Entries cost R$ 50 per product and can be made on June 4 and 5, in person at the event or at CVACBA, located at Avenida Perimetral da Ciência, km 01, s/n, 2nd floor of the Innovation Space of PCT Guamá. Each company may register up to two products per category. The chocolates will be evaluated blindly by a technical jury, based on sensory attributes such as flavor, aroma, texture, and shine.
The top three in each category will receive recognition seals (gold, silver, and bronze), certificates, and cash prizes: R$ 3,000 for 1st place, R$ 2,000 for 2nd, and R$ 1,000 for 3rd. Additionally, the producers of the beans used in the winning chocolates in the Intense Chocolate and Milk Chocolate categories will also be honored with certificates of merit.
Interested companies can obtain more information via WhatsApp at (91) 3201-7456 or by email [email protected]. Access the announcement.
The Center for the Valorization of Bioactive Compounds of the Amazon
CVACBA specializes in services that enable quality control of plant-based products, operating in the areas of food science and technology, pharmaceuticals, chemistry, biotechnology, cosmetology, among others. Among its initiatives, it promotes the contest for chocolates produced and marketed by the festival exhibitors, made with beans and/or main ingredients from the Amazon.
Its activities include the bioprospecting of species and quality control of plant-based materials, with services such as analysis of residual enzymatic activity and tests on cocoa, chocolate, derivatives, açaí, among others.
Public or private projects, linked or not to the Guamá Science and Technology Park, can count on the support of PCT Guamá and its laboratories. Interested parties should contact via email [email protected] or by phone at (55) (91) 3321-8908 and 3321-8909.
Reference in innovation in the Amazon
PCT Guamá is an initiative of the Government of Pará, through the State Secretariat of Science, Technology and Higher, Professional and Technological Education (Sectet), in partnership with UFPA and the Federal Rural University of the Amazon (Ufra), managed by the Guamá Foundation.
It is the first technological park in the Northern region of Brazil and aims to stimulate applied research and innovative and sustainable entrepreneurship, in order to improve the quality of life of the population.
Located on the banks of the Guamá River, which gives its name to the complex, PCT is situated between the campuses of the two universities and has an ecosystem rich in biodiversity, extending over 72 hectares, designated for buildings and the Environmental Protection Area (APA) of the Metropolitan Region of Belém.
The complex has more than 30 resident companies (physically installed in the Park), over 40 associates (linked to the Park but not physically installed), 12 research and development laboratories for processes and products, and a technical school.
PCT Guamá is part of the National Association of Entities Promoting Innovative Enterprises (Anprotec) and the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (Iasp), and is part of the largest innovation ecosystem in the world.
