California group lab tests show leading chocolate brands have lead & cadmium

Brits who sought emergency room treatments over the weekend for eating too much Easter egg chocolates may have valid reasons beyond overindulgence as the cause of their stomach ache. As it turns out, some chocolates may have lead and cadmium in it.

Although the testing was done by a California-based group, As You Sow, some of the manufacturers have global sales with their products being sold in different continents, not just in North America. The group had conducted independent laboratory testing of 50 chocolate products and it found 35 of the chocolates have lead and/or cadmium, reports Health Nut News.

The lead or cadmium levels exceeded the safe harbor threshold of California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1988. The results prompted As You Sow to file notices with 18 chocolate manufacturers.

The list includes Hershey, Lindt, Whole Foods, Mars, Ghirardelli, Trader Joe’s and Mondelez for failure to provide the warning to consumers, required by law, that the product has cadmium, lead or both. There is no explanation how the two chemical elements got into the chocolates, but As You Sow’s Andrew Behar’s theory is that it could have come from coal-fire power plants, leaded gasoline and pesticides that get into the soil and into the cacao bean. But it could also have been introduced into the plant.

The brands which have lead are Bissinger’s, Godiva, Moonstruck, Trader Joe’s and Vosges. Those with cadmium are Theo, See’s Candies, Mars, Hershey, Ghirardelli and Earth Circle. The brands with both lead and cadmium are Ghirardelli, Godiva, Hershey, Lake Champlain, Lindt, Mondelez, Kroger, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.

Eleanne van Vliet, environmental health consultant of As You Sow, warns that lead exposure could lead to neurological impairment such as learning disabilities and lower IQ. Vliet stresses there is no safe level of lead for children.

Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow, notes that lead and cadmium accumulate in the body, so it is important, especially for young children and pregnant women, to avoid exposure. “Our goal is to work with chocolate manufacturers to find ways to avoid these metals in their products,” Fugere adds.

Chronic cadmium exposure could result in damage to kidney, liver and bones. On the other hand, animal studies show that cadmium exposure could lead to lower birth weight, neurobehavioural problems and damage to male reproductive systems.