Overview
Jaćimović and colleagues analyzed 12 dark chocolates from Serbian markets for polyphenols, antioxidant capacity and 26 elements by ICP-OES. Lead and arsenic were below the method quantification limits in all samples, and cadmium was within the EU limit. Nickel ranged from 1.62 to 4.94 mg/kg and chromium from 0.07 to 2.63 mg/kg.
Key numbers
- Lead, arsenic, antimony, thallium and vanadium: “below the method quantification limits (MQL) in all the studied samples” (Section 3.3, p. 10).
- Cadmium: lowest value 0.03 mg/kg (77 percent cocoa with orange); other values shown only in Figure 2 (Section 3.3, pp. 10 and 12).
- Nickel 1.62 to 4.94 mg/kg; chromium 0.07 to 2.63 mg/kg; aluminum 11.38 to 36.19 mg/kg (Section 3.3, pp. 11-12).
Methods (brief)
One gram of chocolate (pooled from five bars) was wet-digested in nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide at 80 °C and analyzed by ICP-OES. Detection and quantification limits are in supplementary tables that are not in the file, and no reference material is reported in the main text.
Evidence Fitness
A small sample of dark chocolates measured by ICP-OES, which is not sensitive enough to quantify lead in chocolate; only ranges are printed in the main text and the per-sample table is supplementary. Includes three chocolates with dried fruit pieces, but none is a fruit snack candy. Dark chocolate is a proxy for chocolate pudding and fruit snack candy, which are not linked.