Hong Kong's watchdog finds heavy metal cadmium in all 29 chocolate samples tested, one exceeds EU limits

Hong Kong’s Consumer Council has found the presence of heavy metal cadmium in all the 29 chocolate samples it testes, with one batch even exceeding the permitted EU's limit.

Thefindings came on Monday after the Council sourced 29 samples of chocolate from various retailers for testing, including 20 dark chocolates and 9 milk chocolates.

Both milk and dark chocolate were considered “high-sugar foods” loaded with fatty content, said the Consumer Council.

“Prolonged intake of foods of high cadmium content might pose risks to kidney functions,” Kyrus Siu King-wai, chairman of the Council’s publicity and community relations committee, said.

“Recent studies indicate that for an average adult, weekly chocolate intake should be limited to less than 100 grams (3.5 ounces),"he added.

Nine milk chocolate varieties and 20 dark chocolate samples totalling 29 samples were analysed, with unit costs ranging from HK$1 per 10 grams to HK$32. The council examined the items' claimed nutritional information, including the amounts of sugar, protein, and trans fats, as well as any indications of heavy metal and carcinogenic contamination.

Hong Kong does not have a legal limit for cadmium yet

Since there is no legal cap on the amount of cadmium that can be used in chocolate in Hong Kong, the council went to the requirements outlined in the European Commission Regulation for cocoa goods.

As of April 2023, the EU regulations set a maximum cadmium level of 0.8 mg/kg for chocolate with a cocoa content of or greater than 50%, 0.3 mg/kg for chocolate with a cocoa content less than 50% but equal to or greater than 30%, and 0.1 mg/kg for chocolate with a cocoa content of less than 30%.

With the exception of two products labelled "no added sugar," all samples of dark chocolate were found to contain more than 15 grams of sugar per 100 grams, or "high sugar" levels, whilst the samples of milk chocolate had an average sugar content of 53.8 grams per 100 grams.

The milk chocolate samples had an average fat content of 33.3 grams per 100 grams, whereas the dark chocolate examined had an average total fat content of 42.8g per 100 grams, with the highest reaching 50.7g per 100 grams.

The council suggested customers to read nutrition labels carefully.

(With inputs from agencies)

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