A quick note before you dive in

If you’re short on time, you don’t need to read this entire article.

The short version:
All Soma Cacao is heavy-metal safe and fully compliant with EU, Australian, and US regulations. Regular independent lab testing confirms this, and you'll find the latest test results at the bottom of this page. 

The longer version:
This article exists for those who want context, nuance, and data. It explains why recent media coverage around chocolate and heavy metals caused so much alarm, how different food safety standards actually work, and how cacao compares to many everyday foods.

Feel free to read as much or as little as you like. Key takeaways are highlighted throughout, and our latest test results are shared transparently at the end.

Just to put your mind at ease from the outset

All of our cacao is heavy-metal safe and fully compliant with EU, Australian, and US regulations.

We’ve shared our most recent independent test results at the end of this article, alongside the maximum allowable limits set by each regulatory body, so you can see the data for yourself.

These results were never a surprise to us. We work closely with producers who take great care at every stage of the process. Where lead contamination does occur in cacao, it is typically introduced during post-harvest handling, not through the cacao tree itself. Our producers follow high standards designed to minimise this risk while also producing truly beautiful cacao.

The recognition our varieties have received from international bodies such as the Cacao of Excellence program reflects this care and attention to quality.

And just to be clear, the intention here isn’t to defend Soma Cacao. There was never any real question about the safety of our cacao.

Rather, we’re interested in offering context. Food safety standards can vary widely, and media headlines can sometimes amplify fear without much nuance. In a world where information is everywhere, we believe it’s worth slowing down, looking at the evidence, and approaching these conversations with a bit of discernment.

Key points for skimmers

If you only read one section, make it this one.

• The Consumer Reports article that caused all the fuss used a heavy metals standard called MADL (Maximum Allowable Daily Limit), which is widely criticised for being set far below levels associated with actual harm, and  lacking scientific rigour.

• For cadmium, MADL is set significantly lower than other global standards:
  – 5.6× lower than European limits
  – ~16× lower than WHO guidelines
  – Over 150× lower than Japanese standards

• No food is 100% heavy-metal free. Trace amounts of cadmium are present in almost all foods, especially cereals, bread, leafy greens, and potatoes. Claims of being “heavy metal free” should be treated with caution.

• The amount of cadmium in Soma Cacao, and even in regular chocolate, is very small when viewed by weight and by typical serving size, and is lower than many everyday foods such as rice, spinach, chickpeas, almonds, potatoes, and lentils.

• Average dietary cadmium intake already exceeds MADL in many countries, suggesting the threshold is set unrealistically low rather than indicating widespread risk.

• Certain minerals reduce cadmium toxicity, including zinc, magnesium, calcium, and iron, all of which are naturally present in cacao.

The context

In December 2022, Consumer Reports published an investigation suggesting that 23 of 28 dark chocolate bars tested contained what it described as concerning levels of cadmium, lead, or both.

It’s worth noting that this report was not peer-reviewed, meaning it wouldn’t hold much weight in a formal scientific or academic context.

Nonetheless, the media quickly picked up the story, and concern spread rapidly around one of the world’s most loved foods: chocolate.

In the weeks that followed, we began receiving daily emails, messages, and comments from people genuinely worried that the cacao they loved and trusted might be unsafe.

Here’s the broader context. The presence of trace amounts of heavy metals in cacao, as well as in many other foods, has been understood for decades (i.e., this is old news, folks!) As a result, measures to monitor and manage exposure have long been in place. A 2005 study found that lead concentrations in cocoa powder and chocolate products were relatively high compared to other foods, prompting significant attention and action within the chocolate industry.

Today, regular heavy metal testing is a standard part of responsible cacao sourcing. This is certainly the case for all of our suppliers, and for many producers worldwide, particularly smallholder farms working with values-led and “conscious” businesses. In both the EU and Australia, specific regulatory limits for cadmium in chocolate and cacao products have existed for some time.

What we found most interesting about the Consumer Reports article was not the presence of heavy metals itself, but the particular standards it chose to use, and the way the findings were reported without sufficient context. Once amplified through headlines, this lack of nuance understandably caused unnecessary concern among consumers.

Over the past few months, we’ve spent time revisiting the research, comparing international standards, and re-educating ourselves on heavy metals in both cacao and the food system more broadly. Our aim with this article is to share that context clearly and calmly: to help ease concerns, and to encourage informed, discerning decision-making rather than fear-driven responses.

What actually are heavy metals?

While there’s no strict definition for “heavy metal”, they’re generally considered to be those elements in the metals section of the periodic table of elements that are high density, i.e. they’re literally heavy metals. Sometimes the assumption is that all are toxic, however there are certain heavy metals that are biologically necessary in small quantities, for example copper, zinc, and manganese (all of which, incidentally, are present in cacao).

Generally, the list of heavy metals includes: arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, copper, zinc, nickel, selenium, silver, antimony, manganese, and several others. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) only has specific safety levels for a few of these—cadmium, lead, arsenic, and mercury—because those are the elements within this category that most commonly make their way into food.

What’s the deal with cadmium and lead?

These two heavy metals are the ones that have caused most concern in the chocolate industry. In certain quantities, both can have harmful side effects. We’ll look at them each in turn:

CADMIUM (Cd):

What is cadmium and where is it found?

Cadmium is a naturally occurring element found in soil and rocks. It is used in many products, including batteries, metal coatings and plastics, and it is found in cigarette smoke.

Health impacts of cadmium exposure:

Exposure to cadmium occurs through breathing cigarette smoke and through diet. Consumption of cadmium in very high quantities can irritate the stomach and cause vomiting and diarrhea. Over time, cadmium may build up in the kidneys, cause fragile bones, and increase risk of cancer.

Cadmium & Cacao:

Cadmium can be found in very small quantities in most cacao products, through direct uptake of phytoavailable cadmium by the theobroma cacao tree during the pre-harvest stage, i.e., the cacao plants absorb cadmium from the soil in which they grow. It is unlikely that any cacao is 100% cadmium-free due to the presence of cadmium in the environment, so it is good for us to be wary of any cacao/cocoa/chocolate products that claim to be totally “heavy metal free”.

The origin of cadmium in these cocoa-growing soils is a mixture of natural and anthropogenic sources, is highly variable, and is country- and farm-specific. The mitigation of cadmium in cacao is challenging. While some proposed solutions include soil amendments to adjust soil physiochemical properties, cacao tree breeding and grafting techniques, none of these are quick fixes nor have they been demonstrably effective at scale. Our task, then, at Soma Cacao is to ensure we don’t source cacao from cadmium hotspots, and that we regularly test for this heavy metal.

Cadmium in foods: putting cacao in perspective

A better question would be: are there any foods that do not contain cadmium?!

Indeed, cadmium can be found in practically all types of food. For example, a 2019 study revealed that the majority of cadmium exposure in the US population comes from the following food groups:

• Cereals and Bread – 34%
• Leafy Vegetables – 20%
• Potatoes – 11%
• Legumes and Nuts – 7%
• Stem/Root Vegetables – 6%

NOTE: The USA consumes the highest amount of chocolate per capita per day of any country in the world – yet chocolate did not make the list…

So let’s get more specific. How much cadmium is found in different foods, and how does this compare to Soma Cacao?

The table below shows that Soma Cacao — and chocolate more generally — contains less cadmium per gram than many foods we eat regularly, including spinach, lettuce, rice, kidney beans, sunflower seeds, potatoes, almonds, lentils, chickpeas, and oysters, to name just a few.

When typical serving sizes are taken into account, the difference becomes even clearer. A serving of Soma Cacao contains around four times less cadmium than sunflower seeds, at least ten times less than kidney beans, roughly four times less than lettuce, and between two and six times less than an average serving of potatoes.

LEAD (Pb):

What is lead and where is it found?

Lead is a naturally occurring bluish-gray metal found in small amounts in the earth. Humans have been mining and using lead metal and salts for thousands of years, causing a continuous environmental accumulation and exposure of organisms and ecosystems.

It would be very difficult to say that any food, including cacao, is 100% lead-free, because it is a naturally occurring element in the environment and can be found in trace amounts in soil, water, and air. Again, a reason to be wary of any cacao/cocoa product claiming to be 100% “heavy metal free”.

Well-known sources of lead-poisoning include lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust in older buildings. In terms of food, most contamination occurs in the processing and storage of products. As consumers we can reduce our risk of exposure by avoiding the use of glazed pottery and pewter dishes to serve or store food, avoiding the storage of beverages in leaded glass decanters, keeping the home clean and as dust free as possible, eating a variety of foods, and eating foods rich in calcium and iron (like cacao!) and Vitamin C so your body will absorb less lead from specific food sources that have been exposed to lead.

Historically, beverages (including beer, wine, coffee and tea), cereal-based foods and vegetables are the food groups that have contributed the most to the dietary intake of lead, at least among Canadians, according to Health Canada.

Lead & Cacao:

Unlike cadmium, the lead in cocoa beans comes from the post-harvest handling of wet cocoa beans, not through uptake by the cocoa tree. The source of post-harvest lead in cocoa beans is a result of the following mechanisms:

• Foreign material included loosely within bulk cocoa beans.
• Encasement of soil particles on the wet and sticky cocoa bean shell during outdoor drying.
• Chemical adsorption of Pb by the wet and acidic cocoa bean shell during contact with soil.

Therefore, the mitigation of lead in cacao is somewhat simpler than cadmium: have high standards in place for post-harvest processing.

What other foods contain lead?

Lead can be found in small amounts in many different foods due to natural or man-made contamination. However, some foods are more likely to contain higher levels of lead than others, including:

• Certain types of seafood such as tuna, swordfish, and mackerel
• Organ meats such as liver and kidney
• Wild game meat
• Rice and rice products such as rice cereals and rice milk
• Leafy vegetables such as lettuce and spinach
• Root vegetables such as potatoes and carrots
• Some types of fruit juice, especially grape juice
• Canned and packaged foods that are imported from countries with less strict food safety regulations

So how much lead is in different foods, and how does this compare to cacao?

The below table depicts the average lead content of different foods, with the median amount found in our Soma Cacao varieties at the top. It demonstrates both that many, many foods we commonly consume contain lead, and that foods that form a substantial part of many western diets, for example potatoes and spinach, contain more lead than cacao.

Check point

At this stage, we can confidently say:

• The levels of cadmium and lead in Soma Cacao are lower than many everyday foods

• This is true both per gram and per serving size

• Context matters far more than headlines

About the food standards used in the Consumer Reports article

To begin with, because potential toxins can’t be tested directly on humans, it’s inherently difficult to determine exactly how much of any given substance is enough to cause harm. As a result, different regulatory agencies around the world have developed their own safety standards, which, as we’ll see, can vary quite substantially.

The standard used in the Consumer Reports article that sparked recent concern is a US guideline known as MADL (Maximum Allowable Dose Level). Under California’s Proposition 65 legislation, MADL refers to the highest daily exposure to a chemical that is considered unlikely to pose a significant risk of cancer or reproductive harm.

Importantly, MADL has been described as a public policy guideline rather than a strictly scientific threshold. It is intentionally conservative, designed to protect the entire population, including the most vulnerable groups.

That conservatism, however, has also been a point of criticism. MADL is often set well below levels associated with observable harm, which can lead to over-regulation and unintended consequences for certain industries, including chocolate. Critics also argue that MADL relies more heavily on precautionary principles than on direct risk assessment, and therefore lacks the scientific rigour applied in many other international standards.

MADL compared with other cadmium standards

• MADL for cadmium: 4.1 μg per day

• NOEL (No Observed Effect Level): ~21.5 μg per day for a 65 kg adult

This means the NOEL is around five times higher than MADL. Since average adult body weight is higher than 65 kg, the gap is even wider in practice.

To put this into perspective, the table below compares MADL with other international standards for cadmium intake, and the same data is also shown visually for those who prefer a graphical comparison.

Check point

From this information, we can draw two clear conclusions:

1. MADL is an extremely conservative standard when it comes to allowable daily cadmium intake. This goes a long way toward explaining why 23 out of 28 chocolate bars were deemed to have “failed” in the Consumer Reports analysis.

2. There is no global consensus among regulatory bodies about how much cadmium can be safely consumed. Acceptable intake levels vary widely depending on the framework used.

MADL and lead

• MADL for lead: 0.5 μg per day

• FDA reference level: 8.8 μg per day

That’s more than 17 times higher.

Had the Consumer Reports analysis used the FDA standard rather than MADL, every chocolate bar tested would have passed.

How much cadmium are people actually consuming?

Cadmium intake varies depending on geography, diet, and other demographic factors. We’ve included a few examples below. Taken together, these figures suggest that populations in several countries regularly consume cadmium at levels equal to, or higher than, the MADL of 4.1 micrograms per day.

Are there heavy metal standards related specifically to cacao/cocoa?

There are also standards in place related to cadmium levels specifically in cacao/cocoa products. These particular standards were, for some reason, ignored by the Consumer Report. Possibly because, according to these standards, the chocolate bars listed in the report would have been considered safe, no media circulation driving traffic to their report nor consumer alarmism would have ensued.

So let’s take a look. Note that these standards are in milligrams (not micrograms) per kg of chocolate, and note that our cacao was found, on average, to contain 0.15 milligrams/kg.

So how much Soma Cacao is safe to consume?

Using the conservative European standard of 23 μg per day for a 65 kg adult:

• 25 g serving of Soma Cacao ≈ 3.75 μg cadmium

• You would need to consume over 150 g per day to approach the limit

Using WHO standards, it would be over 430 g per day.

These are extremely large amounts. We recommend 25–30 g per day, which comfortably sits within all recognised safety guidelines.

The most commonly used standards for maximum cadmium intake per day are the European Safety Standards and the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. These are widely accepted and used as the basis for regulations and guidelines in many countries around the world.

The European Safety Standards set a maximum cadmium intake of 23 micrograms per day for a 65kg individual, while the WHO sets the highest standard at 65 micrograms per day for the same individual weight.

Taking the more conservative standard, the European Safety Standard max intake of 23 micrograms per day (for a 65kg individual):

There is, on average, 0.15 mg/kg of cadmium in Soma Cacao (see below for specifics). This is equivalent to 150 micrograms/kg of cacao. Therefore, a serving of 25g of cacao, contains just 3.75 micrograms of cadmium. So, according to European Safety Standard, a 65kg individual would have to consume 6.1 servings, or 153g, of Soma Cacao daily in order to reach the maximum limit. According to the WHO standards, an 65kg individual would have to consume 17.3 servings, or 433g of Soma Cacao in order to reach the maximum limit (!!).

These are enormous quantities of cacao, which we would NEVER recommend anyone consuming in one day, but it is just to demonstrate just how safe having a cup of Soma Cacao is on a daily basis, from the perspective of cadmium content. In general, we recommend consuming 25-30g of Soma Cacao per day, in order to yield the benefits, but also to not overdo it in terms of theobromine, caffeine, fat, and calorie content.

SOMA CACAO’s LATEST TEST RESULTS 

Below you’ll find our most recent independent heavy metal test results.

For cadmium, we’ve compared our results against the Australia / New Zealand regulatory limit for cacao. We chose this benchmark because it is both the most locally relevant and a conservative standard. Even against this stricter threshold, our cacao is comfortably within safe limits.

For lead, we’ve used California’s Proposition 65 guideline for comparison. While Australia does not currently have a cacao-specific reference level for lead, Prop 65 is one of the few established frameworks that does, and it is widely regarded as a particularly stringent standard. It is also the same benchmark referenced in the Consumer Reports article that prompted widespread concern.

We’ve presented the data this way to ensure transparency and to allow for a clear, like-for-like comparison against the most relevant and conservative standards available.

CADMIUM:

LEAD:

THE BOTTOM LINE

As long-time, regular consumers of Soma Cacao, and as people who recommend it to our loved ones, and to all of you, we care deeply about how safe and nourishing our cacao is. We’re a health-conscious team, and the nutritional value of cacao matters to us. It’s part of what drives this business in the first place.

At the same time, we’ve seen how the worlds of nutrition, health scares, diet trends, and superfood hype are constantly shifting. One moment it’s heavy metals, the next it’s oxalates. In the 1980s, fat was the enemy; now high-fat diets are widely embraced. We’ve also witnessed how quickly media narratives can escalate concern, as happened following the release of the Consumer Reports article last year.

So our invitation - to ourselves as much as to anyone else - is to keep perspective before letting the latest health scare tax our nervous system.

Life is too short.

We hope this article has shown just how complex, inconsistent, and often politicised food standards can be, and that these issues are rarely black and white.

What is within our control is learning to listen to and trust our own bodies. If cacao on an empty stomach doesn’t feel great, try having it later in the day. If a heavy meal right before bed disrupts sleep, eat earlier. These kinds of adjustments are simple, intuitive, and often far more meaningful than rigid rules.

In general, we’re guided by the famously simple advice of American author and journalist Michael Pollan:

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

If you’ve made it all the way to the end of this article, thank you for your time and care. And if you have any questions or comments, you’re always welcome to reach us at hello@somacacao.com.au.