(Stephanie Dubois/ CBC News) — For years, dark chocolate has been touted as good for you, in moderation.
Research has shown that there can be benefits for your heart, cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
Those are all still true, but a report published in December looking at the heavy metals in dark chocolate may leave a bad taste in your mouth.
Scientists with Consumer Reports, an independent non-profit based out of the U.S., tested 28 dark chocolate bars for lead and cadmium. They found either or both in all of the chocolate bars, some of which are sold in Canada.
Those heavy metals are some of the “highest concern to human health,” according to a Health Canada website about a review of food products other than chocolate, and have been shown to have serious health effects after long-term exposure.
Knowing that, the scientists used California’s guidelines on maximum allowable dose level (MADL) of 0.5 micrograms for lead and 4.1 micrograms for cadmium to determine the risk posed by the chocolate bars. (…)