What You Need to Know About Lead and Cadmium in Chocolate
As a chocolate lover, you’ve likely seen or heard about the recent Consumer Reports study which raised concerns about the levels of lead and cadmium found in some chocolate company’s products. Both of these heavy metals can be harmful to humans, and their presence in food products is a cause for concern. In this article, we'll explore what lead and cadmium are, how they can end up in chocolate, what you can do to minimize your exposure and how California Cultured is making chocolate that is guaranteed to have no levels of lead and cadmium.
Risks of Lead and Cadmium Exposure
Lead and cadmium are naturally occurring elements that can be found in soil and water, but industries such as mining, smelting and manufacturing have increased the amount found in our environment. Long-term exposure to these heavy metals can lead to a range of health problems, including damage to the kidneys, bones and nervous system. especially in vulnerable populations such as children, pregnant women, and individuals with compromised immune systems. While total avoidance of these elements in our food supply is not possible, what is possible is to limit intake of products with reported high levels and unfortunately, dark chocolate seems to be one of those products.
Cacao plants contain compounds called phytochelatins, which are known to bind to heavy metals and facilitate their uptake by the plant. Cacao plants are typically grown in tropical regions where the soil tends to be more acidic and low in organic matter. These soil conditions can make heavy metals more soluble and available for uptake by the plant. Cacao plants are often grown on small, family-owned farms where farmers may not have access or knowledge about ways to mitigate these compounds.
Cocoa trees, from which cocoa beans are harvested, can absorb these metals from the soil and transport them to the fruit. This means the primary ingredient in dark chocolate — the cocoa bean — can contain measurable levels of lead and cadmium. Another way is through the manufacturing process during the roasting and grinding of the cocoa beans.
What Do the Studies Show?
Several studies have been conducted on the levels of lead and cadmium in chocolate products. While the Consumer Reports investigation was not peer-reviewed, the levels of cadmium and lead found in the dark chocolate were similar to those reported in a more comprehensive study of cocoa and chocolate products published by researchers at the Food and Drug Administration in 2018.
California public health guidelines state that one should not have more than 0.5 micrograms of lead per day and no more than 4.1 micrograms of cadmium per day. The FDA study found that dark chocolate had, on average, 7.6 micrograms of cadmium and 0.8 micrograms of lead per one-ounce serving, and some products had three or four times as much. Milk chocolate, which contains less cocoa, had much lower concentrations.
Another study published in the journal Food Additives & Contaminants: Part B found that children who consumed chocolate and other cocoa products had higher levels of cadmium in their urine compared to children who did not consume these products.
While chocolate lovers don’t want to hear this, dark chocolate is relatively high in both metals and can significantly increase a person’s overall daily intake.
What Can You Do to Minimize Your Exposure?
If you eat chocolate often, choose products with lower heavy metal concentrations. As You Sow’s website keeps track of cadmium and lead levels in products from several chocolate brands which is a great way to see if your favorite brands have high cadmium or lead levels.
Consuming high-quality, organic dark chocolate may also reduce the risk of exposure, as these products are typically grown in soil that is free from contamination.
You can also consume chocolate in moderation, as heavy metal exposure is dose-dependent, so if you’re a fan of that Trader Joe’s 72% Dark or Hershey’s Special Dark Mildly Sweet Chocolate, you might want to cut back on those a bit since their lead levels are fairly high.
California Cultured Chocolate
At California Cultured we make our chocolate from cocoa cells. We’re able to perfectly mimic optimum conditions needed for cacao to thrive through our unique indoor farming method that does not require soil. Our cells grow and multiply in tanks and come out ready to be roasted and fermented.
There are no toxic metals found in our chocolate because our cocoa doesn't have any soil to leach these metals from. Additionally, most agricultural soil has contamination from pesticides after years and years of growing crops. This is not a concern with our cocoa. We know that lead and cadmium in dark chocolate is a huge issue for chocolate lovers and we are thrilled to offer a new method of cocoa growing that does not involve the risk of bringing those toxic metals into our bodies.