Toxic Chocolate: Lead, Cadmium Found in Popular Chocolate Brands, Watchdog Group Reports

Watchdog group As You Sow tested 50 popular chocolate products from popular brands including Whole Foods, Hershey's, Trader Joe's, Kroger, Godiva, Mars, and Lindt, to name a few. They found that 35 of the chocolates they tested contained lead and cadmium. The levels of toxic metals they found were dangerously higher than the standards for California's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act's guidelines. 

"Lead exposure is associated with neurological impairment, such as learning disabilities and decreased IQ, even at very low levels," said As You Sow's environmental health consultant, Eleanne van Vliet, in a statement. "In fact, there is no safe level of lead for children."

As You Sow also noted that exposure to cadmium can result in male fertility issues, neurobehavioral issues, low birth weight and damage to the kidneys, bones and liver. The watchdog group is aiming to collaborate with popular chocolate manufacturers to phase out the use of lead and cadmium in their products.

We tested 50 popular #Easter #chocolates for lead and cadmium. See the results now: https://t.co/4r7N2tZkXT pic.twitter.com/sXIl6enTeE

— As You Sow (@AsYouSow) March 23, 2016

Some chocolate companies have responded to the issue of lead and cadmium content in the products. Hershey's said in an email that their chocolates are safe to eat and are within the set guidelines, including those from the US Food and Drug Administration.

"All Hershey products meet all FDA and state standards, and our cocoa powder and chocolate are safe to eat," said Hershey's spokesman Jeff Beckman to The Washington Post. "This includes the very strict Proposition 65 standards for lead and cadmium in candy and other products."

Beck adds that lead and cadmium are "naturally occurring minerals." People have been eating chocolates for hundreds of years and there has been no issues of it whatsoever.

However, Medical Daily notes that the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences says that lead is dangerous and there are no amounts that are considered to be safe. Additionally, people consume a lot of chocolates every year so the levels of lead and cadmium accumulated yearly is concerning.