Coming Clean: Our Cacao & Heavy Metals (Lead & Cadmium)

The Cadmium and Lead Cacao Scare – is your cacao clean enough for consumption?

There’s been a lot of concerned murmuring in the wider chocolate industry of late. Specifically, around the high levels of heavy metals found within cacao (namely lead and cadmium) and their potential impact on our overall health and wellbeing.

We’re joining the conversation to share our thoughts and perspective. Before we dive in, let us assure you that Sacred Earth Medicine Cacao is not only safe – it’s pure, clean and absolutely overflowing with nutritional goodness! We’ll share more on this below, including our latest lab test results, so you can feel confident in choosing our clean and pristine cacao!

So what exactly are Heavy Metals?

Heavy metals, in the context of chemistry, refer to elements that can be either beneficial or toxic to the human body (1)

Physiologically, our body needs small amounts of some heavy metals for optimal functioning and health. These compounds include iron, zinc, copper, chromium, magnesium and manganese. As luck would have it, cacao is rich in all of these!

What we’re focusing on here are the heavy metals that are high density and toxic to the body in low concentrations. The most common metals that cause toxicity include arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury. (2) If your body’s soft tissues accumulate too much of these substances, the resulting poisoning can cause serious health problems.

But before you panic, it important to understand a few things…

The main offenders in Cacao - Cadmium and Lead - and how heavy metals in cacao came to light.

It's true that cadmium and lead, both which can be detrimental to the body, can be found in cacao. As natural metals found in the crust of the Earth, they do find their way into the food chain – particularly due to the deep root system of cacao. (3)

Back in 1986, the state of California passed the Proposition 65 law due to the state’s policy around heavy metal consumption. Since cacao products have the presence of both cadmium and lead, they now need to have a Prop 65 warning. About 5 - 6 years ago, the EU found unacceptable heavy metal levels in a number of cacao imports coming from Peru. Imported cacao required a certificate of testing before imports from suppliers could resume.

Having more regulation on heavy metals in our foods is a good thing. Unsurprisingly these warnings rippled out into the broader cacao industry, with health-conscious consumers wanting to assure the safety of their cacao.

"Heavy metal contamination can be severe in cacao. And sadly, not all supply chains with high toxicity levels are openly admitting this. It’s one of the many reasons we now test each and every batch of our cacao for quality assurance!"

The root causes for Cadmium and Lead being found in Cacao

An extensive investigative report done by As You Sow (4) researched Cadmium (Cd) and Lead (Pb) contamination in chocolate products. The results are eye opening, so let’s dive into what they found!

According to their research, the root causes for finding Cadmium and Lead in cacao beans are:

For Cadmium (Cd): the soil is the primary source for Cd contamination in cacao beans. Cd is absorbed through the roots during the growing period. Levels do vary region to region. Factors influencing Cd absorption include soil properties, pH, organic content and zinc concentration. The uptake of Cd by cacao trees is primarily determined by the bioavailability of Cd in the soil.

For Lead (Pb): the contamination mostly arises from post-harvest practices. Specifically during drying and handling (not from the soil like cadmium). Cacao beans often come into contact with Pb-contaminated dust and soil while drying outdoors. This is common in areas where beans are spread out on surfaces like concrete patios, plastic tarps, or even directly on the ground. Lead particles in dust and soil can adhere to the moist outer shells of the beans during this drying stage. Studies show that pre-harvest levels of Pb in cacao nibs are minimal. Most contamination occurs due to contact with dust and soil particles post-harvest.

How can it be Managed?

The report goes on to look at ways to reduce the Cd and PB levels in cacao, concluding that heavy metal contamination in chocolate can be effectively managed through a combination of short and long term strategies which include:

Blending beans with high and low Cd content (IMHO this is not a worthy solution. What a waste of clean, healthy cacao beans!)
Better manufacturing practises like improved bean cleaning and winnowing processes to minimize Pb levels. Pb mainly transfers from the outer shells to the nibs during de-hiusking, breaking and processing.
Managing soil contamination through amendments, better agricultural practices to limit soil-to-bean contact during post-harvest drying.

So, the big question - is there Lead & Cadmium in SEM Ceremonial Cacao?

It’s an important question, and one we are getting asked more and more.

May years ago, when we first started importing Ceremonial Cacao from Peru, our farmers had the soils tested at the farms where our cacao is grown for heavy metal toxicity - including lead and cadmium. The outcomes of the soil testing came back well below the levels regarded as safe by the EU. This testing allowed our farms to continue exports to the EU.

As we noted earlier in the “As You Sow” report, lead doesn't come from soils, it comes from the atmosphere and machinery that harvest and plow soils, and from the post-harvest processing.

We are pleased to share that our cacao is hand harvested. They use only people power and biodynamic farming methods. Because our farms don't use any machinery to prepare soils or harvest (the geography of the land makes this an impossibility), this means no transference of lead! So, it’s no surprise, but reassuring nonetheless, that no lead can be detected in the lab tests of our cacao.

Full Disclosure

We used to get lab tests annually to check the heavy metal levels in our cacao. Although the tests came back consistently clean, we have now switched to getting every batch tested to ensure the purity of our product. That way you, our loyal customers, can rest assured that not only is your cacao vibrationally superior, but also completely free from toxic and harmful heavy metals.

So, in the spirit of full transparency, we want to share our latest lab test results. (5)

What you can see here is that everything that was tested (Lead, Cadmium, Aflatoxin, Mould and Salmonella) is below the detectable levels. So, basically none at all. Pretty amazing results!

To conclude, it’s a complex topic – one with many variables, policies and often conflicting information out there. We’ve done our best to give you a grounded overview, and to reassure you, our beloved cacao community, that Sacred Earth Medicine Ceremonial Cacao is most definitely clean, “green” and pristine!