Overview
Sánchez-Soledispa and colleagues bought 81 samples of three popular powdered chocolate drink products across Guayaquil in June 2020 and measured arsenic, cadmium and lead by graphite furnace atomic absorption. Lead was not detected, arsenic was low, and cadmium was found in all products, with the Colombian-made product above the EU 0.60 mg/kg limit.
Key numbers
- Cadmium: product 1, 0.236 ± 0.082 mg/kg; product 2, 0.169 ± 0.066 mg/kg (0.074 to 0.260); product 3, 1.440 ± 0.212 mg/kg (1.200 to 1.900) (Resultados, p. 67).
- Product 3 cadmium by zone: 1.260 ± 0.057 mg/kg in the north versus 1.670 ± 0.200 mg/kg in the south (p. 69).
- Arsenic 0.030 ± 0.021 mg/kg (product 1) and 0.060 ± 0.034 mg/kg (product 3), not detected in product 2; lead not detected in any sample (p. 67).
Methods (brief)
Microwave digestion of 0.2 g with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide; graphite furnace AAS (AAnalyst 400) per EPA 3051/7061, arsenic with palladium modifier. Reference material CRM033 recovery 95%; accredited laboratory. Detection limits are not given.
Evidence Fitness
Direct powdered cocoa drink data with good replication (27 samples per product) but only three products in one city. Powdered chocolate is a cocoa proxy for chocolate-pudding and chocolate-nut-candy, which are not linked. Products are reported here as retail products 1 to 3.