BEWARE: These 10 Popular Chocolate Brands Allegedly Tested High For Lead!

We’ve dished the dirt on everything from tuna to McDonald’s chicken nuggets, and now it seems like the dirt train’s rolling its way around to everyone’s favorite guilty pleasure – chocolate. Let’s face it, it was really only a matter of time.

It turns out that some of the chocolate brands we all know and love the most contain dangerous amounts of heavy metals. No, not heavy metal like Led Zeppelin but rather a different kind of ‘le(a)d’, the sort you probably don’t want to ingest.

Keep eating too much of said chocolate and you might find yourself on that Stairway To Heaven sooner than you anticipated…

All jokes aside, the issue is actually far-reaching and affects many popular chocolate brands. South California-based health watchdog group As You Sow blew the whistle on the toxic chocolate based on a survey it conducted which found some chocolate brands contain as much as 9 times the ‘safe’ daily amount of lead for adults.

The scary thing is that while many of us adults have resigned ourselves to the fact that we can’t stuff our faces with tons and tons of chocolate, kids haven’t necessarily reached that point – and there is no safe level of lead for children.

Lead overexposure can lead to reduced IQ and neurological damage as well as damage to the reproductive system. And it’s not even like you’re in the clear if you don’t notice any immediate effects – as reported by Mayo Clinic, lead can build up in the body for months, even years. The clinic also reports that even small amounts can cause serious health problems.

Although As You Sow won’t disclose exactly how much lead was found in the chocolate brands they tested, they did release a list of several chocolate brands that contain the deadly toxin.

They include:

Alfred Ritter’s Ritter Sport 73% Cocoa Fine Extra Dark Chocolate from Ecuador
Endangered Species Chocolate’s Natural Dark Chocolate with 88% Cocoa
Equal Exchange’s Organic & Fairly Traded Dark Chocolate Very Dark
Godiva Chocolatier’s 85% Cacao Extra Dark Chocolate
Hershey’s Dagoba Organic Chocolate Eclipse Extra Strong Dark Chocolate
Lake Champlain Chocolates’ Dark Chocolate Organic
Lindt & Sprungli’s Excellence 85% Cocoa Extra Dark Chocolate Bar
Mars’ Dove Eggs Dark Chocolate Silky Smooth
See’s Candies’ Premium Extra Dark Chocolate Bar 62% Cacao
Whole Foods Market’s 365 Everyday Value Organic Dark Chocolate Coconut 56% Cacao

Yes, some of my favorite chocolate was on that list, too. And if you’re currently doing the happy dance because you didn’t see yours, don’t dance so quickly. As You Sow’s list contains several more lead-contaminated sources of chocolate.

CNN actually reached out to many of the manufacturers who made this list. Many of them have disputed these allegations. One of the largest companies on the list, the Hershey Company, said the following:

“People have been eating cocoa and chocolate safely for centuries. Consumers can rest assured that our products are safe, and that our industry adheres to all government regulations.”

The Natural Confectioners Association also gave their two cents, saying:

“Some minerals – like cadmium and lead – are found naturally in many foods, including seafood, peanuts, potatoes, grains, leafy vegetables and – sometimes – cocoa beans. Cocoa-based foods are consumed in small amounts and are not a major source of these minerals in the diet.”

Despite this, independent studies have found that chocolate has some of the highest lead concentrations of any food in our diet. And we don’t consume small amounts of it – the average American eats 11 pounds of chocolate annually.

But don’t let this steer you away from chocolate entirely. Check out this post from David Wolfe to find out what kind of benefits the right chocolate can bring you.