Overview
Shkhaier analyzed 10 samples each of three chocolates and three candies sold in Baghdad by electrothermal atomic absorption. Chocolates averaged about 0.33 µg/g cadmium, 4.3 µg/g nickel and 2.2 µg/g lead; candies about 0.09 µg/g cadmium, 1.4 µg/g nickel and 1.2 µg/g lead. Per-sample values are printed in Tables 1 and 3.
Key numbers
- Chocolates, average of three products: cadmium 0.3267, nickel 4.283, lead 2.234 µg/g (Table 2, p. 207).
- Candies, average of three products: cadmium 0.0937, nickel 1.405, lead 1.15567 µg/g (Table 4, p. 209).
- Highest single lead value: 2.55 µg/g in a chocolate made in the Emirates (Table 1, S10).
Methods (brief)
About 0.2 g of each sample was digested in nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide by microwave and measured by ETAAS with palladium and magnesium modifiers. No detection limits, reference materials or recoveries are reported.
Evidence Fitness
Lead levels near 2 µg/g in branded chocolate are far above most published surveys, and values within each product are very uniform, while the paper reports no quality control. Treat the numbers with caution. The printed volume year is 2017, not the manifest’s 2018. Chocolates are a proxy for chocolate pudding and chocolate nut candy, and the unspecified candies are a proxy for fruit snack candy; none of those pages is linked.