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Health

No! Let this not be true.

(49 Posts)
Quokka Sat 17-Dec-22 15:04:59

Just read in the Independent (online) that several well known brands of dark chocolate contain dangerous amounts of lead and cadmium.

Those who, like me, thought this was the healthy (healthier?) option must be gutted. It used to be that everything enjoyable was either illegal, immoral or made you fat! Now we can add - makes you toxic.

I’m off to the garden to eat worms!

kittylester Sat 17-Dec-22 15:42:59

Surely that is going to up your protein count! grin

sodapop Sat 17-Dec-22 18:02:48

Think I'd rather take my chances with the dark choc Quokka grin

welbeck Sat 17-Dec-22 18:44:47

do you know which brands were mentioned ?

BlueBelle Sat 17-Dec-22 18:51:02

Well that’s one thing I needn’t worry about I don’t much like chocolate and can’t bear dark choccy

karmalady Sat 17-Dec-22 18:54:25

oh no!

I googled it and there is a picture of the bars in daily mail. Lindt is high and so is green and black, drat. I have stashed a shedload of montezuma black. Don`t see that one on the list

karmalady Sat 17-Dec-22 18:56:51

cocoa, brownies, cake mixes affected.

M0nica Sat 17-Dec-22 19:27:18

For once, I am not apologetic about not liking chocolate.

HurdyGurdy Tue 03-Jan-23 18:01:04

Is this one of those ridiculous studies that say if you eat half a ton of dark chocolate, you'll be unwell?

With our food and drink safety standards, I'd be very surprised if companies were allowed to sell toxic products.

Fleurpepper Tue 03-Jan-23 18:02:59

There used to be very strict guidelines and checks until very recently (won't mention THE word)- none now- anything goes. Same for so many other products.

MawtheMerrier Tue 03-Jan-23 18:04:35

Really? Sans blague! 🤪🤪🤪

Hetty58 Tue 03-Jan-23 18:09:03

Oh dear! I justify my intake of dark chocolate (and cocoa) by 'needing' it's iron content (as a vegan) but just hate the thought of rationing it!

Callistemon21 Tue 03-Jan-23 18:09:05

Fleurpepper

There used to be very strict guidelines and checks until very recently (won't mention THE word)- none now- anything goes. Same for so many other products.

Lindt:

"Our quality products are made in 11 production sites in Switzerland, Europe and the US"

I doubt that they make chocolate specially for the UK market which contains heavy metals. It will be all their chocolate.

The source:
Dark chocolate’s reputation as a relatively healthy treat stems mostly from the cocoa solids. These are packed with flavanols, which are antioxidants linked to improved blood vessel function, reduced inflammation, and lower cholesterol. Dark chocolate is also lower in sugar and higher in fiber than milk chocolate, and it has magnesium and potassium. Unfortunately, cocoa solids are also where the heavy metals, especially cadmium, lurk. That makes it tricky to balance dark chocolate’s risks and benefits.

Casdon Tue 03-Jan-23 18:41:00

This is a typical Daily Mail story. It does say, buried in the middle of the article that you would have to eat a family sized bar every day to notice any effect, but heigh ho,

Callistemon21 Tue 03-Jan-23 19:45:09

Casdon

This is a typical Daily Mail story. It does say, buried in the middle of the article that you would have to eat a family sized bar every day to notice any effect, but heigh ho,

I'd better stop then 😲

Ladyleftfieldlover Tue 03-Jan-23 19:52:24

The Daily Mail is a comic and not a real newspaper. They invent everything so I don’t believe a word they say.

Callistemon21 Tue 03-Jan-23 20:04:28

Well, it is true but, as Casdon says, you'd have to eat a lot of chocolate to notice any adverse effects.

Cadmium may be excreted in urine but both lead and cadmium could accumulate in the body.

Blondiescot Tue 03-Jan-23 20:07:26

It's the Daily Fail! And I'm taking my chances with the chocolate. As I said on another thread, we've all got to die some day...

Callistemon21 Tue 03-Jan-23 20:11:09

Blondiescot

It's the Daily Fail! And I'm taking my chances with the chocolate. As I said on another thread, we've all got to die some day...

There's a pudding called Death by Chocolate Cake

Even I couldn't manage a whole portion!

Blondiescot Tue 03-Jan-23 20:12:25

Callistemon21

Blondiescot

It's the Daily Fail! And I'm taking my chances with the chocolate. As I said on another thread, we've all got to die some day...

There's a pudding called Death by Chocolate Cake

Even I couldn't manage a whole portion!

I can think of worse ways to go, lol!

Callistemon21 Tue 03-Jan-23 20:19:41

I did try, Blondiescot
It was a long time ago and I had a bigger appetite then, too!

Joseanne Tue 03-Jan-23 20:19:52

I was under a leading toxicology department for heavy metal poisoning, and I have higher than normal levels of cadmium. Here is the information I was given, no mention of dark chovolate so I would take that article with a pinch of salt, (which will probably give you far greater issues)!

Callistemon21 Tue 03-Jan-23 20:25:15

Well, it's everywhere, isn't it.

Some older properties may still have lead water pipes, too.

Joseanne Tue 03-Jan-23 20:31:59

I think several of the impressionist painters had cadmium poisoning from the paint pigments they used, mainly yellow.
Or maybe it was all that delectable French chocolat noir they secretly consumed?

Callistemon21 Tue 03-Jan-23 20:51:24

Not to mention Mad Hatters, poisoned by mercury.

I remember that we used to flick mercury around in the lab at school 😲
And, of course, it's in amalgam fillings.