The Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Campaign: Consumer Reports reveals the Bars are Made of High-Contaminated Lead and Cadmium

Five of the 28 dark chocolate bars that Consumer Reports tested had levels of lead and cadmium that were agreeable with California’s limits.

The lawsuit is seeking $5 million from Hershey’s, calling its advertising and marketing campaign for the dark chocolate bars “false, deceptive, and misleading.” If Hershey’s had told you that the dark chocolate bars they were selling had high levels of both lead and cadmium, he wouldn’t have bought them.

Consumer Reports says that California’s limitations are one of the most protective in the country. The daily lead intake recommendation from the U.S. food and drug administration is 2.2 for children and 8.8 for women of childbearing age.

The statement from the National Confectioners Association was that the products cited were in compliance with strict quality and safety requirements.

Exposure to lead can cause brain and nervous system harm, as well as reproductive harm, because of its effects on the lungs and reproductive organs.

The settlement between confectioners association and As You Sow, an organization that promotes corporate social responsibility, required both parties to undertake a multiyear study to understand the root causes of heavy metals in chocolate and strategies to reduce these levels. The report discussing findings from a three-year study was released in August.

Blending high cadmium content cocoa beans with those with low levels is one of the ways to reduce heavy metal levels.

The proposed class action, brought by Christopher Lazazzaro of New York, comes two weeks after Consumer Reports sounded the alarm on dangerous heavy metals in dark chocolate bars from manufactures including Lindt, Ghirardelli and Hershey’s.

The association reached a settlement in 2018 with As You Sow, a group that advocates enforcement of Proposition 65, which is responsible for California’s limitations. The settlement established concentration levels for both lead and cadmium that require warning labels if surpassed.

The association told NPR on Dec. 16 that its manufacturers, including Hershey’s, have adhered to the levels established by the settlement. When asked Friday about the settlement and trigger warning labels with respect to the lawsuit, the association denied comment.

Probing California’s limits on supersymmetric dark energy with a large number of black holes and skimmering neutrinos

Experts say California’s limitations are set to be very conservative and account for people in higher risk categories.