Heavy Metals in Dark Chocolate

If our groundwater is contaminated by heavy metals, then it's the soil and every agricultural and food item will be contaminated. I have something against people in a social situation who tell me what I can eat and what I cannot eat. I KNOW. Stop assuming people are dumb. Often, you're the presumptuous person. Each time they mention this, something inside me rolls eyes. Going by their logic, I can't even eat grass. Eating air would be the 'safest'.  

Tampons manufactured from cotton plants potentially contain lead, arsenic and other toxins as well. I've been using tampons for like what, two decades. I don't have alternatives if I want to lead an active lifestyle. Pads and reusable cups are frankly, cumbersome. It impedes my daily activities. I'm glad there's testing done for tampons and menstrual products now, so let's hope that the manufacturers take a firmer stance on making tampons safer.  

This is the reality of industrialization. We have contaminated the earth beyond redemption for two centuries. This is the price we pay. The ingredients that go into the making of chocolates, and the manufacturing process of these chocolates aren't spared either. It's quite shocking overall.

In response to a multi-year study heavy metal analysis of 72 dark chocolate and cocoa products in the US published by Frontiers on 31 July 2024, CNN's Sandra LaMotte wrote,

“There are many sources of lead, for example: There’s lead in water, there’s lead in vegetables and fruits, there’s lead in our soil, dust and air,” Fugere said. “Do I feel good about eating a piece of chocolate that may also contain lead? Each person can make their own decision.” 

Healthy adults who limit their intake to small amounts should not be afraid of eating chocolate, said senior study author Leigh Frame, executive director of the Office of Integrative Medicine and Health at the George Washington University in Washington, DC.

We have so much exposure to lead and cadmium via our food that it's no wonder that cancer is so prevalent nowadays. You could eat the healthiest, and swop to a vegetarian diet, and the ingredients would still hold traces of all these. Even hydroponics wouldn't help vegetables since one can't account for the water that is needed in its growth. 

However, this sort of study about candy and chocolates isn't new. Back in 2022 and 2023, there are already plenty of reports about heavy metals found in dark chocolate tested and verified by different labs, especially the ones done by non-profit Consumer Reports, and published in February 2023. 

CR tested a mix of brands, including smaller ones, such as Alter Eco and Mast, and more familiar ones, like Dove and Ghirardelli. 

For 23 of the bars, eating just an ounce a day would put an adult over a level that public health authorities and CR’s experts say may be harmful for at least one of those heavy metals. Five of the bars were above those levels for both cadmium and lead. Read more about how CR tested dark chocolate (PDF). 

That’s risky stuff: Consistent, long-term exposure to even small amounts of heavy metals can lead to a variety of health problems. The danger is greatest for pregnant people and young children because the metals can cause developmental problems, affect brain development, and lead to lower IQ, says Tunde Akinleye, the CR food safety researcher who led this testing project.

The good of dark chocolate is its flavanols are fast eroded by the lead and cadmium found in them. Hershey's was sued by a Christopher Lazzazaro of New York in December 2022 over these levels. 

Eva Grausz of California also brought a class action lawsuit against Hershey's, but that the court has granted Hershey's the motion to dismiss the Plantiff's claims, "Indeed, under the new levels set by the Consent Judgment, Plaintiff has not shown the levels of lead or cadmium in the Products create an unreasonable safety hazard." Read the judgment here.

If a single recommended serving of dark chocolate is 30-60g, then that's less of a concern if we don't eat it regularly. But if we do, then we're going to have problem especially if we're medically compromised or are sensitive to these. 

I do like dark chocolate. While I don't have an insane craving for it, popping a square or a blob once in a bit is nice. That's not even at once a week. I eat that maybe once a month. It's a slippery slip. Even if I eat everything in moderation, the trace amounts of lead and cadmium are already in my body. Everything in moderation = same amount ingested. What's the difference. So you see, I might as well eat air, except the pollutants in air are sizeable too. BAH!