A research team from Philadelphia's Temple University have discovered that running an electric current through chocolate mixture may reduce the amount of fat needed to create chocolate mixture.

The solution has to do with the shape of cocoa particles, which are traditionally round and float when suspended in fats. In order to allow for the mixture to pass smoothly through the pipes at a factory, fats like cocoa butter are added to the chocolate mixture.

Researchers have discovered that by passing an electric current through molten chocolate the cocoa particles can be flattened, causing them to wedge together more tightly and pass through the pipes without needing extra help from a fat.

In their findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers estimate using their method could reduce the fat level of milk chocolate by 10 to 20 per cent.

Of course, the change in method does nothing for the sugar content of chocolate and, given recent calls to bring back full-fat products due to the benefits of a diet with fat, it seems unlikely the method will turn your 3pm Boost bar into a health food.

Fairfax Media