Only a week or so after I got this big, 6-can pack of Hersheys cocoa powder from Amazon, and consequently printed out lots of low carb treats to make with it, I got my email from Consumer Labs. (CL does third party testing on supplements, and since I take many of them, I subscribe to ensure that what I take 1) contains what its advertised to contain; and 2) does not contain any contaminants. Youd be surprised at the reputable brands that turn up tainted with lead and other contaminants.) Anyway, Consumer Labs issued the results of testing on MANY brands of cocoa powder, including the healthy, organic ones, and nearly ALL of them tested positive for the toxic heavy metal, cadmium. (Some tested positive for lead, too! Apparently, Nigeria, which grows and exports cocoa powder, still permits leaded gasoline, the fumes of which get absorbed into the cocoa fruits.) I made a copy of the report, emailed it to Amazon, and they very kindly returned my purchase price. *sigh* I was really looking forward to using cocoa powder, but theres no way Im eating unacceptable levels of cadmium. From the CDC website: Eating food or drinking water with very high cadmium levels severely irritates the stomach, leading to vomiting and diarrhea, and sometimes death. Eating lower levels of cadmium over a long period of time can lead to a build-up of cadmium in the kidneys. If the build-up of cadmium is high enough, it will damage the kidneys. Exposure to lower levels of cadmium for a long time can also cause bones to become fragile and break easily. I tried to attach the HTML document of the CL report here, but Facebook doesnt support that format. If you are interested in seeing how your brand tested, shoot me a PM with your email address and Ill send you a copy of the document.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 16:40:59 +0000