Venezuela attempts to enter Guinness World Records for largest chocolate coin

More than 100 chocolatiers on Thursday launched an attempt in a bid to make the world's largest chocolate coin in Venezuela, an exporter of cacao.

Estimated to weigh more than a metric ton and measure about 240 centimeters in diameter, the giant edible coin was expected to take some 12 hours to make.

The attempt, backed by Guinness World Records, is part of Venezuela's International Chocolate Expo and Fair, with participation of some 125 chocolate makers. Expo visitors will be able to purchase a piece of the potentially record-setting coin at the closing ceremony on Oct. 4.

"This record represents the promotion of Venezuelan cacao," Andres Landaeta, a chocolatier and organizer of the event, told Xinhua. "It is the most precious food we have (and) we can make the most of it and take it forward."

The current holder of Guinness World Records by this category is Italy whose chocolate makers have won the mention in the well-known reference book after having prepared a chocolate coin weighing 658 kilos.

"What we want is to offer an international and global platform, such as Guinness World Records, to present the product and work of art being made here today in every corner of the globe," Carlos Martinez, a representative of Guinness World Records, told Xinhua.

Leudys Gonzalez, president of Our Earth Foundation, a Venezuelan NGO and sponsor of the fair, said: "For us this record is important because Venezuelan cacao is certified and recognized as the best in the world, and to break a record with these characteristics means a lot not only for our country, but for the global chocolate industry that recognizes the quality of our cacao."

Venezuela produces some 16 million kilos of cacao each year, from 50,000 hectares of the crop across 18 of the country's 23 states. Venezuelan cacao is exported to countries like Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the United States. Endit