Editing Chocolate (section)

===Heavy metals===
[[File:Chocolate02.jpg|thumb|Chocolate bar in a bowl of chocolate]]
It is unlikely that chocolate consumption in small amounts causes [[lead poisoning]]. Some studies have shown that lead may bind to cocoa shells, and contamination may occur during the manufacturing process.<ref name="Rankin">{{cite journal |last1=Rankin|first1=CW|last2=Nriagu |first2=JO |last3=Aggarwal |first3=JK |last4=Arowolo |first4=TA |last5=Adebayo |first5=K |last6=Flegal |first6=AR |title=Lead contamination in cocoa and cocoa products: isotopic evidence of global contamination |journal=Environmental Health Perspectives |volume=113 |issue=10 |pages=1344–1348 |date=October 2005 |pmid=16203244 |pmc=1281277 |doi=10.1289/ehp.8009|bibcode=2005EnvHP.113.1344R }}</ref> One study showed the mean lead level in milk chocolate candy bars was 0.027&nbsp;μg lead per gram of candy;<ref name="Rankin" /> another study found that some chocolate purchased at U.S. [[supermarket]]s contained up to 0.965&nbsp;μg per gram, close to the international (voluntary) standard limit for lead in cocoa powder or beans, which is 1&nbsp;μg of lead per gram.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Heneman |first1=Karrie |last2=Zidenberg-Cherr |first2=Sheri |title=Is lead toxicity still a risk to U.S. children? |journal=California Agriculture |volume=60 |issue=4 |year=2006 |pages=180–4 |doi=10.3733/ca.v060n04p180 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In 2006, the U.S. FDA lowered by one-fifth the amount of lead permissible in candy, but compliance is only voluntary.<ref>{{cite web |first=Lorraine |last=Heller |title=FDA issues new guidance on lead in candy |publisher=FoodNavigator.com |date=29 November 2006 |url=http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng.asp?id=72399-lead-candy |access-date=15 February 2007 |archive-date=31 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100331092648/http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng.asp?id=72399-lead-candy |url-status=live }}</ref> Studies concluded that "children, who are big consumers of chocolates, may be at risk of exceeding the daily limit of lead, [as] one 10 g cube of dark chocolate may contain as much as 20% of the daily lead oral limit. Moreover chocolate may not be the only source of lead in their nutrition"<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Yanus |first1=Rinat Levi |last2=Sela |first2=Hagit |last3=Borojovich |first3=Eitan J.C. |last4=Zakon |first4=Yevgeni |last5=Saphier |first5=Magal |last6=Nikolski |first6=Andrey |last7=Gutflais |first7=Efi |last8=Lorber |first8=Avraham |last9=Karpas |first9=Zeev |title=Trace elements in cocoa solids and chocolate: An ICPMS study |journal=Talanta |volume=119 |pages=1–4 |year=2014 |pmid=24401377 |doi=10.1016/j.talanta.2013.10.048 }}</ref> and "chocolate might be a significant source of [[cadmium]] and lead ingestion, particularly for children."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Villa |first1=Javier E. L. |last2=Peixoto |first2=Rafaella R. A. |last3=Cadore |first3=Solange |title=Cadmium and Lead in Chocolates Commercialized in Brazil |journal=Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry |volume=62 |issue=34 |pages=8759–63 |year=2014 |pmid=25123980 |doi=10.1021/jf5026604 |bibcode=2014JAFC...62.8759V }}</ref> According to a 2005 study, the average [[lead]] concentration of cocoa beans is ≤ 0.5&nbsp;ng/g, which is one of the lowest reported values for a natural food.<ref name="Rankin" /> However, during cultivation and production, chocolate may absorb lead from the environment (such as in atmospheric emissions of now unused leaded gasoline).<ref name="Rankin" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=The World Has Finally Stopped Using Leaded Gasoline |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/08/30/1031429212/the-world-has-finally-stopped-using-leaded-gasoline-algeria-used-the-last-stockp |access-date= |website=[[NPR]] |archive-date=28 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128043201/https://www.npr.org/2021/08/30/1031429212/the-world-has-finally-stopped-using-leaded-gasoline-algeria-used-the-last-stockp |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[European Food Safety Authority]] recommended a tolerable weekly intake for cadmium of 2.5 [[microgram]]s per kg of body weight for Europeans, indicating that consuming chocolate products caused exposure of about 4% among all foods eaten.<ref name="foodsafetynews/2021/lowers-cadmium">{{cite news |last1=Whitworth |first1=Joe |title=EU lowers lead and cadmium limits for food products |url=https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2021/08/eu-lowers-lead-and-cadmium-limits-for-food-products/ |access-date=15 March 2023 |work=Food Safety News |date=13 August 2021 |archive-date=15 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315135706/https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2021/08/eu-lowers-lead-and-cadmium-limits-for-food-products/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{CELEX|32021R1323|text=Commission Regulation (EU) 2021/1323 of 10 August 2021 amending Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 as regards maximum levels of cadmium in certain foodstuffs}}. (Implicitly repealed by {{CELEX|32023R0915}}.)</ref> Maximum levels for baby foods and chocolate/cocoa products were established under Commission Regulation (EU) No 488/2014.<ref>{{CELEX|32014R0488|text=Commission Regulation (EU) No 488/2014 of 12 May 2014 amending Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 as regards maximum levels of cadmium in foodstuffs Text with EEA relevance}}. (Implicitly repealed by {{CELEX|32023R0915}}.)</ref> [[1986 California Proposition 65]] requires a warning label on chocolate products having more than 4.1 mg of cadmium per daily serving of a single product.<ref name="confectionerynews/cadmium-lead-chocolate">{{cite news |last1=Nieburg |first1=Oliver |title=Killing at source: How to avoid cadmium and lead in chocolate |url=https://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2016/09/16/How-to-avoid-cadmium-and-lead-in-chocolate-Safety-recall-prevention |access-date=14 March 2023 |publisher=Confectionery News |date=15 September 2016 |quote=Last updated on 13-Aug-2019 |archive-date=1 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201162436/https://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2016/09/16/How-to-avoid-cadmium-and-lead-in-chocolate-Safety-recall-prevention |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="consumerreports/a8480295550">{{cite news |title=Lead and Cadmium Could Be in Your Dark Chocolate |url=https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-safety/lead-and-cadmium-in-dark-chocolate-a8480295550/ |access-date=14 March 2023 |work=Consumer Reports |archive-date=12 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112194257/https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-safety/lead-and-cadmium-in-dark-chocolate-a8480295550/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="19393210.2017.1420700">{{cite journal |last1=Abt |first1=Eileen |last2=Fong Sam |first2=Jennifer |last3=Gray |first3=Patrick |last4=Robin |first4=Lauren Posnick |title=Cadmium and lead in cocoa powder and chocolate products in the US Market |journal=Food Additives & Contaminants: Part B |date=3 April 2018 |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=92–102 |doi=10.1080/19393210.2017.1420700|pmid=29310543|s2cid=13677509 }}</ref>