LEAD, CADMIUM FOUND IN CHOCOLATE
Update: Many people seem to be missing the good list that you can click on below provided by mainstream news and the watchdog group. There are brands on there like Kraft and Nestlé which we would never use. There is one good brand that is organic on their list and this is it. We have no affiliation with them (wish we did!) but you can buy them as a healthy alternative here.
Chocolate is a treat most of us love – sometimes- but it seems that even sometimes may be too often now. Recently, a consumer health watchdog group found levels of lead and cadmium in some of the chocolate brands we eat, and the levels are higher than normal. The group based out of Oakland, CA, called As You Sow, sent the chocolate to independent labs for testing and now wants the following companies to put warning labels on their wrappers:
WARNING REQUIRED
| MANUFACTURER | PRODUCT | WARNING REQUIRED |
|---|---|---|
Bissinger’s | Bissinger’s All Natural 60% Dark Chocolate Whole Almonds | Lead |
Earth Circle Foods dba River Canyon Retreat Inc. | Earth Circle Organics Organic Balinese Cacao Nibs Cold Pressed | Cadmium |
Ghirardelli Chocolate Company | Ghiradelli Intense Dark 72% Cacao Twilight Delight Chocolate Bar | Cadmium |
| Ghiradelli Chocolate Premium Baking Bar 100% Cacao Unsweetened Chocolate | Lead & Cadmium | |
Godiva Chocolatier, Inc. | Godiva Chocolatier 50% Cacao Dark Chocolate Sea Salt | Lead |
| Godiva Chocolatier 85% Cacao Extra Dark Chocolate | Lead & Cadmium | |
| Godiva Chocolatier 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate | Lead & Cadmium | |
The Hershey Company (dba Artisan Confections Company) | Scharffen Berger Semisweet Fine Artisan Dark Chocolate (62% cacao) | Cadmium |
| Scharffen Berger Extra Dark Fine Artisan Dark Chocolate (82% cacao) | Cadmium | |
| Dagoba Organic New Moon Rich Dark Chocolate (74% cacao) | Lead & Cadmium | |
Lake Champlain Chocolates | Lake Champlain Chocolates Dark Chocolate (57% cocoa) | Lead & Cadmium |
Lindt & Sprüngli (USA) Inc. | Lindt Excellence 85% Cocoa Excellence Extra Dark | Lead & Cadmium |
Mars, Incorporated | Dove Silky Smooth Dark Chocolate Bar | Cadmium |
Mondelez International, Inc. | Green & Black’s Organic 85% Cacao Bar | Lead & Cadmium |
Moonstruck Chocolate Co. | Moonstruck Dark Chocolate Chile Variado (68% cacao) | Lead |
See’s Candies, Inc. | See’s Candies Premium Extra Dark Chocolate (62% cacao) | Cadmium |
The Kroger Co. | Private Selection 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate Swiss Bar | Lead & Cadmium |
Theo Chocolate | Theo Organic Fair Trade Pure 85% Dark Chocolate | Cadmium |
Trader Joe’s Company | Trader Joe’s Swiss 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate | Lead |
| Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Bar – Toffee With Walnuts and Pecans 70% cacao | Lead | |
| Trader Joe’s Pound Plus Dark Chocolate | Lead | |
| Trader Joe’s Pound Plus, 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate | Lead | |
| Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate 73% Cacao Super Dark | Lead & Cadmium | |
| Trader Joe’s The Dark Chocolate Lover’s Chocolate Bar (85% cacao) | Lead & Cadmium | |
Vosges, Ltd. | Wild Ophelia All Natural New Orleans Chili – Dark Chocolate Bar (70% cacao) | Lead |
Whole Foods Market, Inc. | 365 Everyday Value Organic Dark Chocolate (56% Cacao) | Lead & Cadmium |
Please click here to see the full list.
While no one is exactly sure how the lead and cadmium got there,but one theory postulated by Andrew Behar, with As You Sow is this: lead and cadmium from coal fire power plants, from leaded gasoline, and from pesticides get into the soil then get into the bean. One other possibility is that lead is somehow introduced in the manufacturing plant.
The National Confectioners Associations has issued the following statement, in regards to the findings:
“The FDA and other health authorities have determined that tiny traces of naturally occurring heavy metals in food are unavoidable and present no public health risk.”
However, according to California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, the levels found are NOT acceptable. As we’ve already seen in Flint, MI, no level of lead is safe for children and cadmium is known to cause harm to the reproductive system.
Let’s hope these companies take this seriously and move to make changes. Until they do, this candy isn’t safe to consume.
Source: ABC7 News and As You Sow
