Chocolate Safety, Heavy Metals and More

The Raw Chocolate Company chocolates are all tested and safety within heavy metal limits.

We take testing and health safety seriously.

We often get asked about our heavy metal levels in our cacao. We are legally (and ethically) required to test for heavy metals, along with salmonella and moulds, for all of our cacao. We would not, and will not, be able to use any cacao that exceeds heavy metal health standards.

Can we see your heavy metal levels?

We don't currently publish heavy metal reports as the work that would be required to format and publish heavy metal data would need to be re-done for every batch of cacao butter, nibs and powder which are all tested individually. On top of that, every batch will differ very slightly, and be used at different times for different products. It would be an enormous amount of work.

What are heavy metals?

Heavy metals such as cadmium, are naturally occurring metals in soil. As cacao is grown, these metals can be found in the cacao bean. At high levels, heavy metals have a negative health effect. This is why chocolate makers like us are legally required to ensure heavy metals are low. 

Note that heavy metals are not a simple issue to understand and there may be a lot of conflicting advice available. This is why we keep it simple with a promise that our heavy metal levels are within health safety guidelines as we are legally bound.