Hershey, the chocolate manufacturer, is now facing a lawsuit in the US for allegedly selling products that contain detrimental levels of metal.
The complaint instigated by Christopher Lazazzaro claims that the manufacturer deceived consumers by not revealing the quantities of lead and cadmium in three dark chocolate bars.
“Chocolate Buyers beware”
Mr. Lazazzaro asserted that he would not have bought the products if he had known what they contained.
The lawsuit likewise refers to current findings by the US magazine Consumer Reports (CR), which tested 28 dark chocolate bars for lead and cadmium.
The magazine implied that 23 of them, including chocolate from Hershey, Godiva and Lindt, contained “comparatively higher levels” of the metals.
“For 23 of the bars, eating just an ounce (28g) a day would put an adult over a level that public health authorities and CR’s experts say may be harmful for at least one of those heavy metals,” it claimed.
In particular, Hershey’s Special Dark bar and Lily’s 70% bar were high in lead, while Lily’s 85% bar was high in lead and cadmium.
“Any food can contain heavy metals if they are present in the soil in high concentration,” nutritionist Sheeba Majmudar told the BBC.
Hershey
“Currently there are no food laws stating that all food batches need to be tested – until they make you sick. While no level of toxins is safe, it is always the ‘buyer beware’ slogan that comes to mind,” she added.
“Consumers rely on [Hershey] to be truthful regarding the ingredients,” the lawsuit argues.
It adds that “people are concerned with what is in the food that they are putting into their bodies,” while parents and caregivers are “concerned with what they are feeding to children in their care.”
Mr. Lazazzaro is seeking at least $5m (£4.2m) in damages from Hershey in the proposed class action lawsuit.
Source: https://www.consumerreports.org
https://www.bbc.com/
