Chocolate Lawsuits?

Angie SzumlinskiNews

Consumer Reports recently released a report that indicates there are concerning levels of both lead and cadmium in some dark chocolate bars. They urged four chocolate producers to commit by Valentine’s Day to reduce the amount of these metals in their dark chocolate products. I went to the website and found a “petition” to be signed by more than 55,000 consumers, addressed to the manufacturers of dark chocolate including Hershey’s, Trader Joes, Green and Black (owned by Mondelez) and Theo. 

Is this crazy or what? It reminds me of the bacon debate from years ago, now everyone is eating bacon (except vegans). How about the egg debate and the red wine debate? It just seems to never end when it comes to food and especially foods that most adults like and have in their everyday lives. Sure, we all know that lead is a bad thing unless it is in a pencil but I would be curious to know how many dark chocolate bars I would need to eat to experience a problem with lead. I personally don’t know much about cadmium but it must also be a bad thing to be named as a culprit in this study. 

Since this study was released, Trader Joe’s has been sued at least nine times by consumers over its dark chocolate and Hershey’s, Mondelez, Godiva and Lindt have also been sued. At the end of the day, we need to live, we need to enjoy things that make us feel good (in moderation) while staying on track to a healthy lifestyle. This doesn’t mean we need to deny ourselves of enjoyment, including foods that may not be healthy, but it also doesn’t mean someone else should be held responsible for our choices. Stay informed and stay well!