Swiss firm makes melt-resistant chocolate

ZURICH, Switzerland, July 17 (UPI) -- A chocolate manufacturing giant in Switzerland has announced the creation of a melt-resistant chocolate designed to make eating the candy tidier.

Zurich-based firm Barry Callebaut said its Vulcano chocolate melts at 131 degrees, as opposed to the 98.6-degree melting point of many other chocolates, Swissinfo reported Friday.

The company said it also reduced the calorie count of the Vulcano chocolate by infusing it with air bubbles.

"The heat resistance is an attractive quality in hot countries where the logistics and cooling chains are not perfect or the product risks melting on the shelves to no longer look appetizing," Barry Callebaut spokeswoman Gaby Tschofen said. "It could be used as a filling and for biscuits but it can also be molded. We have a milk chocolate version, a dark one, a white one and fruit flavors. They are all natural with no artificial ingredients."

Company officials said they are presenting Vulcano to industrial partners, but it could be up to two years before the chocolate hits the shelves.