43% of cocoa products exceed lead safety levels, study finds

A brand new examine from George Washington College discovered a disquieting share of cocoa merchandise within the U.S. comprise heavy metals that exceed tips, together with greater concentrations in natural merchandise.

The examine, “A Multi-Year Heavy Metal Analysis of 72 Dark Chocolate and Cocoa Products in the U.S.” was printed on July 31, 2024 in Frontiers in Diet.

GW researchers analyzed 72 client cocoa merchandise, together with darkish chocolate, each different 12 months over an eight 12 months interval for contamination with lead, cadmium, and arsenic, heavy metals that pose a big well being hazard in ample quantities.

“All of us love chocolate nevertheless it’s necessary to indulge with moderation, as with different meals that comprise heavy metals, together with massive fish like tuna and unwashed brown rice,” mentioned Leigh Body, director of integrative medication and affiliate professor of medical analysis and management on the GW College of Medication and Well being Sciences.

“Whereas it isn’t sensible to keep away from heavy metals in your meals fully, you should be cautious of what you’re consuming and the way a lot.”

The distinctive examine was led by Leigh Body and the examine’s lead writer Jacob Fingers, a medical scholar researcher within the Body-Corr Lab on the GW College of Medication and Well being Sciences.

The researchers used a threshold of most allowable dose ranges to evaluate the extent of heavy metallic contamination in an array of chocolate merchandise, discovered on grocery retailer cabinets.

Key findings:

• 43% of the merchandise studied exceeded the utmost allowable dose stage for lead.
• 35% of the merchandise studied exceeded the utmost allowable dose stage for cadmium.
• Not one of the merchandise exceeded the utmost allowable dose stage for arsenic.
• Surprisingly, natural labeled merchandise confirmed greater ranges of each lead and cadmium in comparison with non-organic merchandise.

For the typical client, consuming a single serving of those cocoa merchandise could not pose important well being dangers based mostly on the median concentrations discovered. Nonetheless, consuming a number of servings or combining consumption with different sources of heavy metals might result in exposures that exceed the utmost allowable dose stage.

Meals with excessive lead ranges could embrace animal meals that may bioaccumulate heavy metals (shellfish, organ meats) and meals or natural dietary supplements grown in contaminated soil and/or imported from nations with much less regulation (e.g. China, Nigeria, India, Egypt). For cadmium, the primary issues are the identical with the addition of some seaweeds, particularly Hijiki seaweed.

Customers ought to pay attention to potential cumulative publicity dangers, notably with cocoa merchandise labeled natural, as they might have greater heavy metallic concentrations. A serving measurement of darkish chocolate is often one ounce and has been typically advised to have well being advantages together with cardiovascular health, cognitive performance, and chronic inflammation. Nonetheless, the analysis is restricted and issues about heavy metals have but to be taken into consideration.