Trader Joe’s is facing a class-action lawsuit that alleges the company misled and put consumers’ health at risk by failing to disclose on packaging that select dark chocolate products contain lead and cadmium.
The suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Wednesday, comes one week after a similar class-action lawsuit was filed in the same court against The Hershey Company.
Both lawsuits follow a December 2022 report by Consumer Reports, where scientists measured the amount of heavy metals in 28 different chocolate bars. Cadmium and lead were detected in all of them. Twenty-three of those bars contained potentially harmful levels of the heavy metals for adults who eat one ounce a day, Consumer Reports said.
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How much lead and cadmium was found in the chocolate?
Consumer Reports said it used California’s maximum allowable dose level for cadmium (4.1 micrograms) and lead (0.5 micrograms) to measure the potential risk, giving percentages of the maximum allowable dose level found in one ounce of each chocolate product.
“Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate 72% Cacao” was found to be high in lead at 192% of California’s maximum allowable dose level, the report said. “Trader Joe’s The Dark Chocolate Lover’s Chocolate 85% Cacao” was high in both lead and cadmium at 127% and 229%, respectively.
Meanwhile, Consumer Reports also found “Hershey’s Special Dark Mildly Sweet Chocolate” and “Lily’s Extra Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa” to be high in lead at 265% and 144% of state maximum doses, respectively. “Lily’s Extreme Dark Chocolate 85% Cocoa” was high in lead at 143% and cadmium at 101%.
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The same four law firms filed the suits against The Hershey Company and Trader Joe’s Company, the latter of which also lists T.A.C.T. Holding, Inc. as a defendant. The two suits noted that the Consumer Reports article, among other public reports and articles, revealed the products have “unsafe levels of lead and cadmium.”
When contacted by USA TODAY Friday morning, The Hershey Company said it could not comment on pending litigation. USA TODAY also reached out to Trader Joe’s.
Effects of lead, cadmium consumption
The Food and Drug Administration notes that “lead is toxic to humans.” Health consequences depend on factors such as length of exposure and the level of lead in a food or drink, but “chronic lead exposure is associated with kidney dysfunction, hypertension, and neurocognitive effects,” the FDA writes.
Outside of food, lead poisoning can come from a variety of sources – notably lead-based paint. With “very high levels, lead poisoning can be fatal,” the Mayo Clinic notes.
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, when large amounts of cadmium are eaten, severe stomach irritation, vomiting and diarrhea can result. Other forms of cadmium exposure include breathing, particularly through breathing in tobacco smoke – which, over time and if in significant amounts, can result in kidney disease, fragile bones and cancer.
Lawsuits allege ‘deceptive’ advertising
Both suits note that defendants’ “advertising and marketing campaign for the Products is false, deceptive, and misleading” because the levels of lead and cadmium are not disclosed on the products’ packaging or labels that consumers rely on.
“High levels of lead and cadmium in food products is material to reasonable consumers, because these chemicals pose serious health risk, even in small dosages,” the suits read.
The Trader Joe’s lawsuit notes that the plaintiff Thomas Ferrante, for example, “would not have been willing to pay the same amount for the (select dark chocolate products) and/or would not have been willing to purchase the Products” if Trader Joe’s had adequately disclosed that the products contained lead and cadmium. A similar case is made for plaintiff Christopher Lazazzaro in the lawsuit against The Hershey Company.
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Both class-action lawsuits seek more $5 million of damages, including statutory damages of $500 per unit sold.
In addition to the Trader Joe’s, Hershey’s and Lily’s products, Consumer Reports found that select products from brands including Lindt, Godiva, Dove and Chocolove had high levels of lead or cadmium.
