Chocolate
Stub page. Contamination profile populates on the next ingest wave. Chocolate is a processed derivative of cocoa and inherits cadmium from its cocoa-solid fraction; cadmium content scales approximately with cocoa-solid percentage and with cocoa origin.
Heavy metal contamination profile
Per-analyte snapshot derived from the machine-readable contamination_profile in the frontmatter above. data gap indicates the literature has been reviewed for this commodity-analyte combination and no usable occurrence data was found (a finding, not a placeholder). The Key sources column is populated by the per-metal body sections below where they exist; an automated Phase 3 enrichment will lift attributions into this table.
| Analyte | Coverage | Typical (ppb) | p95 (ppb) | Confidence | Key sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pb | n=2 (in progress) | — | — | low | — |
| Cd | n=5 (in progress) | — | — | medium | — |
| iAs | data gap | — | — | — | — |
| tAs | data gap | — | — | — | — |
| tHg | data gap | — | — | — | — |
| Ni | n=1 (in progress) | — | — | low | — |
| Al | n=1 (in progress) | — | — | low | — |
| Cr | n=1 (in progress) | — | — | low | — |
| Sn | data gap | — | — | — | — |
| U | data gap | — | — | — | — |
Why this commodity accumulates cadmium
Chocolate carries cadmium primarily through its cocoa solids, which concentrate cadmium from the cocoa beans during processing (see cocoa for the upstream story). Cocoa butter, the other principal cocoa-derived ingredient in chocolate, carries relatively little cadmium. As a consequence, dark chocolate (higher cocoa-solid percentage) carries more cadmium per serving than milk chocolate (lower cocoa-solid percentage, higher milk and sugar fractions), and baking or confectionery chocolate made from cocoa powder can be particularly cadmium-heavy. White chocolate, which contains cocoa butter but not cocoa solids, carries minimal cadmium from the cocoa pathway.
Ranges by source, region, and variety
Pending ingest of commodity-level occurrence data. EFSA 2009 Table 1 of approximately 140,000 European samples reported a mean cadmium concentration in chocolate of 0.090 mg/kg, which is one-half the mean reported for cocoa (0.178 mg/kg), consistent with the dilution from milk, sugar, and cocoa butter in typical chocolate formulations. Dark-chocolate-specific values are higher; brand and origin variation is substantial and is the subject of Consumer Reports and HBBF published testing that is outside this wiki’s brand-level firewall scope.
Processing effects
Pending. Formulation (percent cocoa solids, presence of milk, use of cocoa powder versus chocolate liquor) is the dominant processing-level driver of finished-product cadmium. Conching and tempering do not meaningfully alter cadmium content.
Ingredient-derivative risk
A chocolate-containing ingredient list translates to cadmium exposure primarily through the cocoa-solid fraction. Apps estimating cadmium from ingredient lists should weight the chocolate contribution by approximate percent cocoa solids when that information is available on the label, and default to a representative mid-range cocoa-solid percentage (approximately 35 to 50 percent for most mass-market chocolates) when it is not.
Mitigation options
Pending. Upstream cocoa-sourcing decisions are the meaningful mitigation lever for chocolate manufacturers; see cocoa.
Abt 2018 sample-level occurrence values
Abt et al. 2018 is the primary FDA U.S.-market occurrence dataset for finished chocolate products. Per-matrix means below; full ranges and stratification by percent cocoa and by Latin America versus Africa origin are in the source page. The 2020 perspective Abt and Robin 2020 contextualizes these values within the JECFA-and-Codex regulatory landscape and the JECFA finding that cocoa-and-chocolate consumption can drive 30-69 percent of total Cd intake in high-consumer children.
| Matrix | Mean Cd ± SD (mg/kg) | Mean Pb ± SD (mg/kg) |
|---|---|---|
| Dark chocolate | 0.27 ± 0.25 | 0.03 ± 0.02 |
| Milk chocolate | 0.06 ± 0.07 | 0.01 ± 0.01 |
The four-fold higher Cd in dark chocolate versus milk chocolate reflects the higher percent cocoa content in dark chocolate; Cd and Pb were both significantly correlated with percent cocoa across the dataset. These values count as one Path A primary source under persistent-wiki-ingest-rule synthesis discipline; Abt 2020 is a secondary citation that does not add new primary data.
Lead in chocolate
Chocolate inherits Pb from its cocoa-solid fraction with the four-fold dark-versus-milk gradient documented in Abt et al. 2018: dark chocolate mean 0.03 ± 0.02 mg/kg, milk chocolate mean 0.01 ± 0.01 mg/kg, across the 144-sample U.S. retail convenience-sample survey. Pb correlated significantly with percent cocoa solids, mirroring the Cd pattern. The 2020 FDA perspective (Abt and Robin 2020) frames chocolate Pb as principally anthropogenic-deposition-driven via the cocoa bean rather than added during chocolate manufacture. The U.S. FDA Pb-in-candy guidance recommends a maximum level of 0.1 mg/kg in candy including chocolate candy; finished chocolate products in the Abt 2018 dataset fall comfortably below the guidance, though high-percent-cocoa dark chocolate has been documented at or above this level in some independent third-party testing not yet in the loaded corpus.
Nickel in chocolate
Chocolate carries Ni proportional to its cocoa-solid fraction. Flyvholm et al. 1984 reports bitter (dark) chocolate at 1.9 µg/g (range 1.3 to 2.7 µg/g, n=7) and milk chocolate at 0.7 µg/g (range 0.4 to 1.2 µg/g, n=11) from the post-1969 AAS/PIXE literature. The roughly 3x gap between bitter and milk chocolate maps cleanly onto the cocoa-solid percentage difference, which is consistent with the >9 µg/g concentration in cocoa itself (Flyvholm 1984). EFSA Nickel 2020 subsequently confirmed cocoa among the principal dietary Ni sources and dark chocolate inherits that load. Nickel-sensitized individuals (systemic contact dermatitis-prone, approximately 10 to 15 percent of the European adult population per EFSA) can experience flare-ups from high-cocoa dark chocolate consumption; the EFSA acute LOAEL of 4.3 µg Ni/kg b.w. for eczematous flare-up identifies chocolate-heavy consumers as one of the dietary subgroups at risk. Pacor et al. 2003 documents cocoa-and-chocolate as the most consistently symptom-aggravating food category in nickel-reactive recurrent aphthous stomatitis (92.6 percent of patients).
Aluminum in chocolate
Chocolate carries Al from a combination of cocoa-solid uptake (cacao tree root Al accumulation from tropical soils) and any processing-equipment or alkalization-step contribution. Elsheikh et al. 2020 reports Al in cocoa sweets in Saudi Arabia (B-tier journal; matrix-specific Al concentrations in cocoa sweets), and biscuit brand 6 in that survey reached a remarkable 291,900 ppb total Al (outlier value that the source page flags for follow-up). Direct U.S. or EU-market chocolate Al concentration distributions are not yet loaded on the wiki. Phase 3b ingest of primary cocoa-and-chocolate Al occurrence work would firm this cell.
Chromium in chocolate
Hernandez et al. 2019 documents that cocoa-containing finished products consistently show the highest Cr concentrations among the French food categories surveyed: chocolate-containing breakfast cereals 360 to 483 ppb total Cr; a dry chocolate biscuit averaged 103 ppb. The paper measures both total Cr and Cr-VI by speciation; whether the Cr-VI fraction in finished chocolate products is significant requires the underlying Hernandez 2019 speciation tables and additional cross-source confirmation. The total-Cr signal supports flagging chocolate as a Cr-bearing finished-product category; Cr-VI-specific speciation data for chocolate matrices is a documented data gap.
Other metals of concern
The remaining HMI-tracked metals on chocolate (iAs, tAs, tHg, MeHg, Sn, U) do not have strong chocolate-specific occurrence evidence in the loaded corpus. Chocolate is not a primary arsenic matrix, is not canned in tin, and does not carry meaningful Hg or U at population level. These metals remain at status: pending on the contamination_profile.
Regulatory limits that apply
- jecfa-cadmium-ptmi — JECFA 91st meeting 2022: cocoa powder alone drives a 97.5th-percentile cadmium exposure of 12 µg/kg b.w./month in European children aged 7 to 11, indicating that chocolate products heavy in cocoa powder warrant particular attention for child consumers.
- codex-cadmium-mls / Codex CXS 193-1995 — International Cd MLs scaled by cocoa-solid percentage: chocolate less than 30 percent cocoa solids (including milk chocolate) 0.3 mg/kg; 30 to less than 50 percent 0.7 mg/kg; 50 to less than 70 percent 0.8 mg/kg; 70 percent or greater 0.9 mg/kg; cocoa powder (100 percent cocoa solids dry-matter basis) 2.0 mg/kg.
- eu-2023-915-cadmium — EU Cd maximum levels for chocolate products: 0.10 mg/kg (100 ug/kg) for milk chocolate with less than 30 percent total dry cocoa solids; 0.30 mg/kg (300 ug/kg) for chocolate with less than 50 percent total dry cocoa solids and milk chocolate with at least 30 percent total dry cocoa solids; 0.80 mg/kg (800 ug/kg) for chocolate with at least 50 percent total dry cocoa solids.
- FDA Pb in candy: recommended maximum level 0.1 mg/kg for candy including chocolate candy (Abt and Robin 2020).
- EFSA Nickel 2020 — Chronic TDI 13 µg Ni/kg b.w./day; acute LOAEL 4.3 µg Ni/kg b.w. for eczematous flare-up in sensitized individuals. No chocolate-specific Ni ML at international level.
Sources
Auto-generated from source-page frontmatter. The “Used on this page for” column is populated by the orchestrator’s POPULATE-SOURCE-LEGEND action; pending entries appear as *[awaiting synthesis]*.
| # | Citation | Year | Type | Used on this page for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hands et al. 2024. A multi-year heavy metal analysis of 72 dark chocolate and cocoa products in the USA, Frontiers in Nutrition | 2024 | Peer-reviewed | Pb, Cd, As in 72 US dark chocolate and cocoa products across four cohorts (2014–2022), with mean Cd and Pb per serving both exceeding Prop 65 MADLs; organic products showed significantly higher Cd and Pb concentrations |
| 2 | Codex 2022. Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of Cadmium Contamination in Cocoa Beans (CXC 81-2022), FAO and WHO, 2023. Codex Alimentarius Code of Practice No. CXC 81-2022. Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. Rome. | 2022 | Government report | International Codex supply-chain Code of Practice for preventing and reducing Cd in cocoa beans, the upstream guidance underpinning mitigation efforts for chocolate Cd |
| 3 | JECFA 2022. Cadmium: dietary exposure assessment, WHO Food Additives Series, No. 82 (Safety evaluation of certain contaminants in food, prepared by the 91st meeting of JECFA) | 2022 | Government report | JECFA 91st meeting finding that cocoa powder alone can drive 97.5th-percentile Cd exposure in European children to 12 µg/kg b.w./month, with chocolate intake scaling with cocoa-solid percentage |
| 4 | Abt et al. 2020. Perspective on Cadmium and Lead in Cocoa and Chocolate, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry | 2020 | Peer-reviewed | FDA perspective synthesizing Cd and Pb occurrence in cocoa and chocolate, documenting geographic origin variation (Latin America vs Africa) and confirming that Cd scales with cocoa-solid percentage and cocoa-product use in chocolate manufacture |
| 5 | Chekri et al. 2019. Trace element contents in foods from the first French Total Diet Study on infants and toddlers, Journal of Food Composition and Analysis | 2019 | Peer-reviewed | Al, Sb, As, Cd, Cr, Co, Ni, Sn, V in 291 French infant and toddler foods, with cocoa-containing breakfast cereals and chocolate-based products among the highest-Cr categories in the survey |
| 6 | Meter et al. 2019. Cadmium in Cacao from Latin America and the Caribbean: A Review of Research and Potential Mitigation Solutions, Bioversity International / CAF Development Bank of Latin America | 2019 | Government report | Comprehensive review of Cd in LAC cacao, identifying Ecuador, Peru, Honduras, and Trinidad as consistently high-Cd origins whose beans frequently exceed EU MLs, directly affecting chocolate Cd by cocoa-origin |
| 7 | Abt et al. 2018. Cadmium and Lead in Cocoa Powder and Chocolate Products in the U.S. Market, Food Additives & Contaminants: Part B Surveillance | 2018 | Peer-reviewed | FDA 144-sample ICP-MS survey of Cd and Pb in US cocoa powder, cocoa nibs, dark chocolate, and milk chocolate; primary occurrence data for this page, including dark chocolate mean Cd 0.27 mg/kg and Pb 0.03 mg/kg |
| 8 | EFSA 2009. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain on a request from the European Commission on cadmium in food, The EFSA Journal | 2009 | Government report | EFSA Cd scientific opinion reporting European mean chocolate Cd of 0.090 mg/kg (vs 0.178 mg/kg for cocoa), establishing the dilution ratio between cocoa and chocolate concentrations used to relate upstream and downstream Cd levels |
| 9 | Codex 1995. General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed (CXS 193-1995), Codex Alimentarius (Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme) | 1995 | Government report | International Codex MLs for Cd in chocolate tiered by cocoa-solid percentage (0.3 to 0.9 mg/kg) and for Cd in cocoa powder at 2.0 mg/kg, the international benchmark for finished chocolate regulation |
| 10 | Flyvholm et al. 1984. Nickel Content of Food and Estimation of Dietary Intake, Zeitschrift für Lebensmittel-Untersuchung und -Forschung 179(6):427-431 | 1984 | Peer-reviewed | Foundational Ni concentration data reporting dark (bitter) chocolate at 1.9 µg/g and milk chocolate at 0.7 µg/g, the primary Ni occurrence reference underpinning the chocolate Ni section |