The nonprofit consumer organization said 16 of 48 products from different manufacturers analyzed by its scientists contained potentially harmful levels of lead, cadmium or both.
Consumer Reports analyzed products in seven categories: dark chocolate bars, milk chocolate bars, cocoa powder, chocolate chips and mixes for brownies, chocolate cakes and hot chocolate.
Products with excessive metal content included a dark chocolate bar and hot chocolate mix from Walmart, cocoa powder from Hershey’s and Droste, semisweet chocolate chips from Target, and hot chocolate mixes from Trader Joe’s, Nestlé and Starbucks.
Only milk chocolate bars, which have less cocoa solids, did not contain excessive metal content.
According to Consumer Reports, prolonged exposure to metals can cause nervous system problems, immune system suppression and kidney damage, with greater danger to pregnant women and young children.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told the organization that experts consider chocolate a “minor source of exposure” to lead and cadmium internationally, but that manufacturers and processors remain responsible for ensuring safety. safety of your food.
Consumer Reports food policy director Brian Ronholm said Hershey’s, as a “leading and popular brand,” should commit to making its chocolate safer. Hershey’s Chief Financial Officer Steve Voskuil said in March that his company was trying to reduce levels of lead and cadmium, noting that the metals are ground elements that can occur naturally in a chocolate product.