It has been discovered that dark chocolate from companies like Hershey’s contains hazardous heavy metals.

Here’s how to indulge in your favourite sweets without risk.

According to a nutrition expert, if you consume a lot of dark chocolate, you might want to reevaluate the brands you purchase because a recent study revealed that some well-known chocolates may contain hazardous amounts of heavy metals.

48 chocolate items from seven categories—chocolate chips, brownie mixes, chocolate-cake mixes, hot chocolate powder, milk chocolate bars, and dark chocolate bars—were tested for heavy metals by Consumer Reports, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group. The organisation added a few additional dark chocolate bars to its most recent test after discovering heavy metals in 23 out of 28 dark chocolate bars in a report published last year.

Consumer Reports discovered in their analysis, which was published on October 25, that all 48 products it tested had measurable levels of lead and cadmium, two heavy metals that have been connected to a higher risk of diseases like cancer and developmental problems in children.

Furthermore, it was shown that at least one heavy metal was present in 16 of the 48 products—brands like Hershey’s, Hu, Perugina, Walmart, and Nestlé—at higher concentrations than those deemed safe by Consumer Reports.

Concerning amounts of heavy metals were present in one-third of the chocolate products.

Consumer Reports used California’s maximum allowable dose levels for lead and cadmium, which it claimed were “the most protective available,” at 0.5 micrograms of lead and 4.1 micrograms of cadmium per day, since there are no federal limits on the amounts of these substances that most food can safely contain.

Three out of every five products tested had levels of lead and cadmium higher than the safe level recommended by Consumer Reports. Perugina’s 85% Premium Dark Chocolate had 539% of the level of concern for lead, while Evolved’s Signature Dark 72% Cacao Chocolate Bar had 149% of the level of concern for cadmium.

The majority of dark chocolate bars, hot chocolate powders, and cocoa powders had lead and cadmium levels that were either over or close to the level of concern; however, the majority of milk chocolate bars, chocolate chips, cake mixes, and brownie mixes did not.

Exposure to lead and cadmium can be harmful, but you don’t have to discard your chocolate.

According to the Mayo Clinic, lead exposure can impair foetuses, cause problems with physical and mental development in children, and cause reproductive problems, pain, and memory or concentration problems in adults. The Centres for Problems Control and Prevention state that chronic exposure to cadmium can cause cancer, weak bones, and kidney problems.

However, despite the “considerable media attention” surrounding the presence of lead and cadmium in chocolate, a US Food and Drug Administration representative told “Today” that “experts from around the world have found that chocolate is a minor source of exposure to these contaminants internationally.”

According to Melissa Melough, a nutritional epidemiologist and assistant professor of nutrition at the University of Delaware, the results of consumer reports do not always suggest that you should give up eating chocolate-flavored items, as she told Insider.

“If you’re eating a reasonable amount of dark chocolate or limiting yourself to the portions that are recommended on the packaging each time that you do choose to eat it, then I wouldn’t be terribly concerned about your heavy-metal intake,” she stated.

However, Melough stated that due to the possible effects on foetal and childhood development, individuals who are pregnant, nursing, or have small children should attempt to minimise their exposure to heavy metals through chocolate as much as possible.

If you’re concerned, pick particular items and think about going back to milk chocolate.

Melough advised choosing the goods that Consumer Reports discovered to contain fewer concentrations of heavy metals in order to minimise your absorption of them, whether you consume a lot of dark chocolate, are pregnant or nursing, or are just concerned about ingesting them.

Among them are: • Sam’s Choice 85% Cocoa Dark Chocolate (Walmart)

• Lindt Milk Chocolate Bar with Classic Recipe
• Ghirardelli Superior Baking: 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
• Chocolate Powder, Organic, Navitas Organics

Because white chocolate has less cocoa than dark chocolate, Melough suggested that this is another way to cut down on the amount of heavy metals you consume from chocolate. As a result of heavy metal contamination during the cultivation and processing of cocoa plants, goods with lower cocoa contents typically have lower levels of heavy metals, as demonstrated by the findings of consumer reports.

Perugina’s owner, Nestlé, confirmed to Insider that its products meet “all applicable regulatory requirements.” In an official statement, Hu claimed that it complies with “all applicable standards” by “a very large margin.”

Cofounder Rick Gusmano of Evolved Chocolate told Insider that the company made sure the levels of heavy metals in its products were far lower than those recommended in a settlement by As You Sow, a nonprofit that tests for heavy metals and advocates for corporate responsibility regarding human rights and environmental health.