It turns out Lindt chocolate isn't expensive because it's made with care and excellence, it's because it's made with lead, and that's very pricey these days. In a study of numerous dark chocolate bars, a worrying amount of dangerous chemicals have been identified.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Testing carried out by Consumer Reports found that of the 28 brands of dark chocolate tested, all of them contained cadmium and lead. Now, Lidl is embroiled in a legal case in which they have to explain just why there are dangerous chemicals in their chocolate.
Understandably, consumers of the supposed 'High End' dark chocolate are put out by the dangerous chemicals they've been consuming. Customers from California, Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Nevada and New York have filed a lawsuit concerning how much lead they have been munching on.
Lindt isn't the only dark chocolate bar to have lead and cadmium in. But, people are extra annoyed by the branding. They claim to be a chocolate bar "expertly crafted with the finest ingredients," but that isn't strictly true. Perhaps they consider lead to be a fine ingredient, as it trades at about $2,000 per ton.
It Turns Out All Dark Chocolate Is Packed With Dangerous Chemicals
Of all the 28 bars of dark chocolate tested by Consumer Reports, all of them were found to contain the dangerous chemicals lead and cadmium. In not so large amounts, both can be fatal. Cadmium, according to Food.com, "is primarily toxic to the kidney and can cause renal failure. Cadmium can also cause bone demineralisation. Newer data on human exposure to cadmium have indicated an increased risk of cancer." It's not the kind of thing you want when tucking into your favorite chocolate bar.
Lead, on the other hand, has absolutely no place in chocolate, and especially not in your body. This is one of the dangerous chemicals that has been repeatedly removed from society. It was once used in paint, make-up, and other things, making folks incredibly ill. How this has made it to chocolate, is beyond me.
Despite all this, Lindt have spoken out about the dangerous chemicals in their chocolate. "Our Lindt & Sprungli quality and safety procedures ensure that all products comply with all applicable safety standards and declaration requirements and are safe to consume" they claim. I guess it's up to you what you deem personally acceptable.