If those you love happen to love chocolate, should you worry?

By Ethel Tiersky

May 04, 2016

Especially when children and/or grandchildren are involved, there's always some risk to worry about. But just in case you're temporarily between worries, here's a new candidate: In late March, 2016, a nonprofit consumer health protection organization named As You Sow published (online) an alarming and highly publicized article dealing with the presence of lead and cadmium in many popular brands of chocolate candy.

Independent laboratory testing conducted by As You Sow found that 35 of the 50 products tested contained lead and/or cadmium. Many of these brands were "above the safe harbor threshold of California law." As a result, the organization has filed notices with 18 manufacturers including these well-known companies: Trader Joe's, Hershey's, Lindt, Whole Foods, Kroger, Godiva, See's Candies, Mars, Ghirardelli, and Earth Circle Organics.

What does As You Sow want companies marketing products containing lead and/or cadmium to do? 1) Get rid of the contaminating ingredient(s) or, at the very least, 2) warn consumers via appropriate labeling on containers. The website also urges consumers to take action by contacting companies whose products contain lead and/or cadmium. A list of companies targeted by As You Sow is on its website along with the specific offending products the companies produce. The list indicates which of the companies are in violation of California's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act because the containers have no warning about the presence of these heavy metals in their products.

WHY ARE LEAD AND CADIUM ESPECIALLY HARMFUL TO CHILDREN?

The accumulation of toxic metals in cocoa tree beans has been a matter of scientific interest for many years. Consuming lead has been considered a significant health risk for decades because lead has been linked to several neurological impairments. Among these are learning disabilities, seizures, and a lower IQ. Lead can also reduce a child's ability to pay attention. About 50% of the lead a child consumes is absorbed into the bloodstream, says CNN.

Cadmium is present in all soil and is absorbed by many plants including the cocoa tree. Cadmium consumption can damage the kidneys, liver, and bones as well as impair neurological development.

As You Sow says, ""Developing fetuses and children are especially vulnerable to lead exposure because their brains are in critical growth and development stages." The Center for Disease Control and Prevention points out that, especially for children, no amount of lead is safe.

HOW MUCH LEAD POSES A DANGER?

The federal guidelines say that children shouldn't consume more than 6 micrograms of lead a day from candy. (For adults, the recommended limit is higher.) For chocolate specifically, FDA recommends a maximum of .1 parts per million. In other words, CNN explains, "If you broke a candy bar into a million pieces, just one-tenth of one of those million pieces could be lead." California has more stringent standards than the FDA or than any other state in the U.S., and it is the California standards that As You Sow is using. The CNN article points this out: "California limits lead exposure to just 5 micrograms a day for everyone, from all sources. While the FDA's guidelines are set to a maximum level of where there are no observable effects, the California standard takes it further, dividing that limit by 1,000 to ensure no possible harm..."

The FDA has no guideline limiting the amount of cadmium in food.

HOW DOES LEAD GET INTO CHOCOLATE?

Lead contamination in chocolate isn't exactly new news. As early as 1820, the problem was investigated in England. By the middle of the 19th century, regulations were in place (in some areas) to minimize the danger. The removal of lead from gasoline led to a reduction of lead in the environment and in foods. A 2005 article posted on Environmental Health Perspectives reported the following: "Lead concentrations in chocolate products [are] among the highest reported for all foods...." Why? "Because of the high capacity of cocoa bean shells to absorb lead, contamination from leaded gasoline emissions may occur during the fermentation and sun-drying..."

But a contaminated environment and some methods of drying of cocoa beans are not the only sources of lead in chocolates There may be some naturally occurring in cocoa beans. Lead may be absorbed while the plant is growing. Furthermore, lead may contaminate the product during manufacturing, processing, and/or shipping.

SHOULD PARENTS BE CONCERNED ABOUT A FINDING OF LEAD IN CANDY?

Chocolate manufacturers have responded by claiming that their products are safe. Some admit that lead is present but only in insignificant trace amounts. See's Candies says, "See's regularly evaluates its products to assure compliance with all state and federal guidelines."

The National Confectioners Association says that minerals such as cadmium and lead are found naturally in many foods including seafood, peanuts, potatoes, grains, leafy vegetables and--sometimes--cocoa beans. But this trade organization points out that cocoa is consumed in small amounts and is, therefore, not a major source of these minerals in a person's overall diet.

HOW DID THE FOOD SCIENTISTS WE CONSULTED RESPOND?

Of course, you'd expect candy makers to come to their product's defense, so we turned to food scientists for their response.

DR. JOE REGENSTEIN (a member of this site's Advisory Board): "I do worry about lead consumption, especially high levels of lead in water. It's useful to remember this saying: 'The dose makes the poison.' But with this type of report, one needs to learn more about how California determined the amount that require labeling since they far exceed the federal guidelines."

DR. CATHERINE CUTTER (a member of this site's Advisory Board): "From what I could tell, the As You Sow article lacked any detail as to how the researchers sampled the chocolate, amount or size of the sample, number of replications per brand, methodology for detection, sources of chocolate, etc. Therefore, I am slightly skeptical of the findings.

"Also, the chocolate with the most lead and/or cadmium appears to be dark chocolate. To my knowledge, most kids (including mine) don't eat dark chocolate. It's an acquired taste; in fact, dark chocolate is quite bitter to many people, including me. If kids eat more milk chocolate than dark chocolate, then I have to ask--is it really an issue?"

Ironic, isn't it, that chocolate, especially dark chocolate, has received a lot of media coverage because it is, in many ways, a healthful food.

DR. GREGORY R. ZIEGLER (an expert in chocolate processing): "Like nearly all plants, cacao will take up heavy metals, the amount of which most often depends on the geographic location (soils). If you look at the “data” that As You Sow has on their website, you will notice that it is the really dark chocolates that earn a “Warning Required.” Since the heavy metals are associated with the nonfat cocoa solids, the higher the cocoa content, the higher the lead and cadmium levels. In fact, cocoa powders are even higher, but who eats cocoa powder by itself? Once 'diluted' in a formulation, the total product is generally below the action levels. What is important is the total dietary and non-dietary exposure as heavy metals accumulate in the body."

Research (listed at the end of the "sources" section of this article) suggests that the lead and cadmium in cocoa might be bound up with indigestible cocoa solids and therefore might not be bioavailable. Only about 10% of the lead and less than 30% of the cadmium in cocoa "can be released in biologically realistic conditions," the researchers conclude.

While parents wonder whether it is necessary to supervise the types of chocolates their children eat and steer them away from the brands containing heavy metals, As You Sow is trying to help in another way. The organization's president, Danielle Fugere, says, "Our goal is to work with chocolate manufacturers to find ways to avoid these metals in their products."

Related articles posted on Shelf Life Advice:

Is chocolate good for you?

The Latest Good News about Chocolate

Can eating chocolate lead to a single attack of illness?

What's in My Water? Answers to FAQs

Source(s):

Food scientists:

Catherine Nettles Cutter, Ph.D. , Pennsylvania State University, Department of Food Science

Joe Regenstein, Ph.D., Cornell University, Dept. of Food Science

Gregory R. Ziegler, Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University, Dept. of Food Science

online articles:

asyousow.org "TOXIC CHOCOLATE"