Lead Found in Prominent Portland Chocolatier’s Candy Bars

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Annie Ellison, GoLocalPDX Reporter

Moonstruck Chocolate Co.'s Dark Chocolate Chile Variado Bar. Photo: moonstruckchocolate.com

One of the chocolate bars made by a prominent, home-grown Portland chocolatier was one of 26 products found to contain lead or cadmium by a California-based consumer watchdog.

As You Sow, a consumer health advocacy group, filed legal notices with 16 candy and chocolate makers, including Portland-based Moonstruck Chocolate Co., after finding lead or cadmium in their products.

The notices, filed with the office of California’s Attorney General, allege Moonstruck, along with other major confectioners including Hershey’s, Snickers, See’s, Trader Joe’s, Mars, and Godiva, failed to provide a warning label on their candy bars that is legally required in the state.

“Consumers don’t expect there to be lead in chocolate,” said As You Sow Toxic Chemical Research Director Eleanne Van Vliet. “We want to inform and alert consumers.”

The non-profit tested 42 chocolate products and found that 26 contained more than what health experts call the “safe harbor level for reproductive harm.”

Numerous studies link the consumption of lead by children or pregnant women to developmental disabilities, behavioral problems, and lower IQ scores. Lead accumulates over time in the body, and is excreted at low levels, Van Vliet said, meaning that there is a threshold for how much can be consumed without causing harm.

Moonstruck Chocolate Co.’s Dark Chocolate Chile Variado Bar was found to contain more than 0.5 micrograms (or 0.0000005 grams) of lead, according to testing conducted by As You Sow. According to California’s Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, any product with more than 0.5 micrograms of lead must carry a warning label to be sold in the state.

The poisonous metal is found in numerous products, including paint made before 1978, soil, dust, and water.

‘No amount of lead is safe’

Some health experts argue children should not consume the toxic metal at all.

“No amount of lead ingestion is ‘safe’ for children,” said Dr. Sean Palfrey, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health at Boston University School of Medicine. “Pregnant women and young children with developing brains in particular should avoid any ingestion of lead.”

California’s Proposition 65 requires the state to publish a list of chemicals that can cause cancer, birth defects, or reproductive harm, along with “safe harbor” levels, beyond which exposure or consumption may cause harm. Failure to comply is enforceable through the Attorney General’s office.

In states without similar legislation, the Food and Drug Administration recommends that candy likely to be consumed frequently by children contain no more than 0.1 parts per million of lead. However, the guideline sets no limit on serving size, and serves as a recommendation for manufacturers rather than a regulation, Van Vliet said.

A ballot measure to require the labelling of genetically modified food did not pass in Oregon in November 2014.

Chili products may have higher levels of lead

Moonstruck specializes in hand-made, artisanal gourmet chocolate, and is co-owned by Sally Bany, the daughter of Columbia Sportswear chairwoman Gert Boyle. Moonstruck boasts five chocolate cafes in the Portland Metro Area, including two in downtown Portland, as well as locations in Nob Hill, Beaverton, and a factory in St. John’s.

An account executive for Lane PR, a firm that assists Moonstruck Chocolate Co.’s media relations, said the company was aware of the action taken by As You Sow.

In 2008, certain candies imported from Mexico caused a consumer panic when they were found to have high levels of lead, that were later linked to the wrappers. Products that contain chilies --such as Moonstruck’s Dark Chocolate Chile Variado Bar--may be more likely to contain higher levels of lead.

According to the FDA:

We are aware that some candies contain significant amounts of lesser refined ingredients, such as chili powder, that may have higher levels of lead than highly refined ingredients like sugar. Manufacturers of these types of candy products need to establish controls to ensure that the use of such ingredients does not result in unacceptable levels of lead in the candy itself.

As You Sow’s testing found that a product from another Northwest chocolate company, Seattle’s Theo Chocolate, contained cadmium. Six chocolate products from Trader Joe’s contained lead, while two contained cadmium. Chronic exposure to that element is linked to bone, liver, and kidney damage.

How lead gets into chocolate

Lead gets into chocolate primarily in three ways “between the bean and the bar,” Van Vliet said. Much of the world’s cacao comes from countries where there is still lead in the gasoline, paint and other materials, she said.

If man-made air or water pollution enters the top-soil the cacao plant is growing in, the beans can be contaminated with lead. Similarly, if pesticides containing lead were used on a previous crop in the same soil, the metal can get into the plant.

Transporting the beans is another way chocolate can become contaminated with lead, sometimes through the shipping containers used. Lead can also taint the beans during the processes of pressing and packaging.

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