The Dark Chocolate Brands That Contain The Lowest Lead And Cadmium Levels

Dark chocolate does have less sugar and more antioxidants than its milk counterpart, but it also contains two heavy metals that can have harmful health effects: cadmium and lead.

In fact, a 2023 Consumer Reports study found that levels of cadmium and lead in some brands exceeded California's maximum recommended amounts for one or both of the elements.

Per the study, Ghirardelli has lower levels of both of the metals. It made the safer choices list with two bars: Intense Dark Chocolate and Intense Dark Chocolate Twilight Delight.

Finally, Valrhona's Abinao Dark Chocolate, Mast's Organic Dark Chocolate, and Taza Chocolate's Organic Deliciously Dark Chocolate rounded out the only five bars considered safer.

With no national standard set for allowable levels of the two metals in most food, the study used California's guidelines to list bars falling below the thresholds for both metals.