HEAVY METALS
IN CACAO

HEAVY METALS

One of the biggest problems with cacao is the high levels of heavy contamination, such as lead, arsenic, and cadmium.

This comes about for a number of reasons.

SOIL

Much of the areas where cacao is grown are located in areas where the soil is high in heavy metals.

This occurs because of the use of leaded gasoline and some areas have soil that is rich with nutrients from volcanic eruptions.

These eruptions often deposit large amounts of heavy metals.

OLD EQUIPMENT

Many plants where cacao is processed are very old and have equipment that is not properly maintained.

This equipment is often made with parts that are partly composed of lead and arsenic.

This leads to heavy metals getting in the cacao during the manufacturing process.

AVOIDING HEAVY METALS

The best way to ensure you are getting cacao without heavy metals is to only buy products that have each batch third-party tested, to ensure very low levels of heavy metals.

Many companies will give test results based on very small amounts, so the levels seem low, but when taking a full serving, you will often get far higher levels than they claim.

Look for test results that show levels in a full serving size or more, so you can see what the levels actually are.

All cacao will have some heavy metals, the key is getting products with the lowest levels possible.