Overview
This review follows cadmium from cacao soils through beans, processing and chocolate, and pools 785 soil and bean data points from seven Latin American surveys. Mean bean cadmium in the studies reviewed ranges from 0.02 to 12 mg/kg and is highest in Latin America, mostly from geogenic soil cadmium. The authors rank blending of cacao origins as the most practical short-term mitigation and low-cadmium cultivars as the long-term option.
Key numbers
- Mean cadmium in cacao beans across surveys reviewed: 0.02 to 12 mg/kg; more than half of Latin American bean samples exceed the 0.60 mg/kg export threshold (Abstract).
- Cacao seed-to-soil transfer factor 1.76 (n = 334) in this review’s model (Table 3).
- Full testa removal can lower cadmium by a factor of about 1.16 from intact bean to cacao liquor (Section 4, p. 36).
Methods (brief)
A literature review with quality screening of more than 400 soil-plant studies, of which seven met the criteria; their paired data were pooled and modeled against soil cadmium, pH and organic carbon.
Evidence Fitness
Context only. Concentration tables quote other studies, so no findings are extracted from this record; the pooled meta-analysis is shown in figures. The file is the Journal Pre-proof. Useful for mitigation (origin blending, processing, soil amendment) on cocoa and chocolate pages; it says nothing direct about chocolate pudding or chocolate nut candy, which are not linked.