Heavy metal content in cacao powder sold at Costco (Volupta) (how to, contact)

[GoldenKiwi]

This is the product I'm referring to. After buying it I noticed there was a CA Prop 65 warning about it containing lead and cadmium. I contacted the company to ask if they could provide a lab report which they sent to me, however I don't know how to interpret these results. Can someone put this into context? Should this be considered safe to eat daily (which I have been doing, about 1 tbsp per day)?

[cheka]

good article here -- although the measurements are in micrograms. might take a little math to convert ppm to mcg



https://www.consumerreports.org/heal...e-a8480295550/

[GoldenKiwi]

Originally Posted by cheka

good article here -- although the measurements are in micrograms. might take a little math to convert ppm to mcg



https://www.consumerreports.org/heal...e-a8480295550/

I looked at this before I emailed the company, unfortunately the results for Volupta are locked behind a paywall. There is some discussion about it on the Amazon page but people are saying different things.

[elnina]

Volupta representative reply to inquiring Amazon consumer:

The only heavy metal found in this brand was cadmium, which is found in all cocao, absorbed from the soil. As cocao powders go, this Volupta product has lower levels of cadmium (0.59 microgram of cadmium per gram of cocao) than many of the other brands, and has been Approved by Consumer Labs.

https://www.amazon.com/ask/questions...k_ql_ql_al_hza

The best cocoa powder overall was Navitas Organics Organic Cacao Powder, which reached 77 percent of CR’s lead limit and 17 percent of the cadmium limit. Navitas has a third party test all finished products for heavy metals to ensure low levels, according to the company website:
Our current averages for cadmium and lead in our Cacao Powder are 0.13mcg/g and 0.07mcg/g, respectively.

Converter:
0.1mcg/g = 100 ppb (parts per billion)
https://endmemo.com/sconvert/ppbug_g.php

What's on market:
Hot chocolate mixes:


Powder cocoa:


https://www.consumerreports.org/heal...s-a4844566398/

And here are FDA regulations: (note - The FDA does NOT consistently monitor food for lead and cadmium contamination. California’s Maximum Allowable Dose Levels (MADLs), which is one of the only standards available).

Heavy metals as lead (as Pb), not more than 10 ppm parts per million. Arsenic (as As), not more than 3 parts per million. Mercury (as Hg), not more than 1 part per million.
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scrip.../CFRSearch.cfm

Looking at your post at Reddit - if you consume only 1tbsp a day, you will be fine.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) of cocoa powder equals: 7.38 grams (g) of cocoa powder

[cheka]

thanks elnina. this topic is near/dear. eat dark chocolate daily -- switched to the ghirardelli after reading the CR article when it came out. hope the industry has made some changes since the report. info is hard to find on that