Although natural cocoa powder (not Dutched) is a healthy addition to your diet, you cannot simply trust every product you find on the market. Some may claim to be "clean" and "organic" but actually contain harmful additives or worse, heavy metal contaminants.

Unfortunately, cocoa powder is prone to contamination with toxic metals, especially lead and cadmium. A 2024 study investigated 72 dark chocolate and cocoa-containing products sold in the U.S. and found that while none of the products exceeded the maximum allowable dose levels (MADLs) for arsenic, 45% did exceed MADLs for lead and 35% for cadmium.

This means that consumers should take extra care when purchasing cocoa products. To avoid ingesting cocoa contaminated with lead and cadmium – which are known to accumulate in the kidneys and liver and cause serious health issues – choose only products that are lab verified for cleanliness and purity.

In this feature article, you will learn all about cocoa, what makes it a potent superfood, and why you should only trust lab-verified organic cocoa products.