Bad News for Chocolate Lovers: It May Have High Levels of Lead, Cadmium

March 19, 2015- We’ve all heard the good news about small amounts of chocolate possibly being heart-healthy, but now there’s a downside to that decadent treat so many people love, according to a new study.

As You Sow, a California-based consumer health watchdog group, announced that it is taking legal action against major chocolate manufacturers for failing to warn consumers that their products may contain levels of lead and cadmium that exceed California state guidelines. Of the 46 chocolate products recently tested by the nonprofit, 26 contained lead or cadmium at levels that surpass California’s “safe-harbor” threshold levels.

The companies are: Mars, See’s Candies and Hershey’s. In July, As You Sow initiated similar legal action against 13 other chocolate makers: Godiva, Ghirardelli, Lindt, Green and Black’s, Kroger, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Earth Circle Organics, Moonstruck, Theo and Vosges.

“A single serving of the chocolate with the highest lead levels contained 5.9 times the maximum allowable dose level set by California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment,” said Bridget Huber of FairWarning in her report. “Those with the highest concentrations of cadmium contained 8.2 times the maximum allowable dose level set by the state, per serving. None carry a warning label.”

A spokeswoman for the National Confectioners Association said it’s impossible to eliminate all traces of cadmium and lead from chocolate products because such metals occur naturally in the soil and water in some areas where cocoa beans are grown.

Read the full minnpost.com post here.

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