A new food frequency questionnaire to assess chocolate and cocoa consumption

Abstract Objective Cocoa has been highlighted as a food with potential benefits to human health because of its polyphenol content. However, few studies show the contribution of cocoa and chocolate products in polyphenol intake. The aim of this work was to develop a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for evaluating the intake of food products containing cocoa (C-FFQ). Methods A sample of 50 university students was recruited to complete the 90-item questionnaire, a validated questionnaire (called here European Food Safety Authority [EFSA]-Q) as well as a 24-hour dietary recall (24 HDR). Spearman correlation test, Bland-Altman plots, and quintile classification analysis were conducted together with the Wilcoxon test and descriptive statistics. Results Significant correlations between the C-FFQ and the EFSA-Q for the most common cocoa/chocolate products were observed ( P P Conclusion The developed C-FFQ questionnaire can be considered as a valid option for assessing the consumption frequency of cocoa/chocolate-derived products, thereby allowing the evaluation of cocoa polyphenol intake in further studies.