It’s a little-known fact that some chocolate is full of harmful metals. According to The Chocolate Professor, lead can get into the cacao beans dark chocolate is made of because the beans dry in the sun. Meanwhile, cadmium is absorbed from the soil in which cacao trees are grown.
Amid a recent lawsuit related to this issue, Angela (@thelawyerangela), TikTok’s favorite lawyer, shared a screen recording from the Consumer Reports website. She primarily focused on four parts of the site: a list of chocolates high in lead, high in cadium, high in both, and finally, those which were considerably lower in both.
“Now if you look at that number next to the red bar, that percentage correlates to [how much metal] is in one ounce of these dark chocolate bars relative to the California maximum allowable dose level for a whole day,” she says.
Chocolate bars high in lead include Hu (210%), Hershey’s (265%), and Lily’s (144%). She then shared those high in cadmium. These included Beyond Good (112%), Equal Exchange (120%), and Scraffen Berger 136%. Bars with too much of both included Theo, Trader Joes, Lily’s, and Green & Black.
Finally, Angela shared a list of the chocolate bars with the lowest amounts of lead and cadmium. These were Mast, Taza, Ghiradelli, and Valrhona.
Viewers react to the news
Many commenters pointed out that they didn’t have such lists for chocolate made in the UK and New Zealand. However, those to who the list did apply were horrified.
“For goodness sake. I’ve been eating a square of dark chocolate a day!” one wrote.
“I have been eating dark chocolate for years because it was ‘healthy,’” another echoed.
While a third complained, “nothing is safe.”
Angela didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via TikTok comment and email.
@thelawyerangela Replying to @CaseyAnthonyDaycare #darkchocolate #chocolate #ghirardelli #godiva #huchocolate #traderjoes #cacao #lindt #lawsuit #classaction #heavymetals #chocolatelover #consumer #explainer #cancer #heavymetals ♬ original sound – 💥 LAWYER Angela 💥
What’s the Lindt & Sprüngli lawsuit?
In a viral video, attorney Kathleen Martinez(@attorneymartinez) explained why Lindt & Sprüngli was facing legal trouble.
Allegedly, the company is being sued for false advertising, deceptive practices, and “many other violations of consumer law.” As she pointed out, the class-action lawsuit alleges that the brand’s chocolate might contain heavy metals, which, over time, can become harmful.
According to Martinez, they found “significant levels” of lead and cadmium in the business’ chocolate; and allegedly, Lindt & Sprüngli knew this back in 2014. So, if you have purchased Lindt & Sprüngli chocolate, you might be part of a class-action lawsuit.
In an email to the Daily Dot, a Lindt spokesperson shared the following statement:
“We are aware of the lawsuit that was filed. Lindt & Sprüngli intends to vigorously defend itself against these entirely unproven challenges to our products. Like all of our products, our EXCELLENCE 85% and EXCELLENCE 70% chocolate bars meet strict quality and food safety requirements and are safe to consume.”
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