Recall: Lead Found in Dagoba Chocolate

so....yoda makes chocolate?

I ate one of those today!

The problem of lead in chocolate is not isolated to Dagoba chocolates. Science News had an interesting article up in Nov 2005 on the problem of isolating when in processing chocolate gets contanimated with lead.

Article here.

Heh, this even came up in an episode of CSI, do remember, plants breathe, that means that they can breathe in the same crap in the air we do, and it can be stored in the plant. Even small amounts will build up with enough consumption of the plant.

"so....yoda makes chocolate?"

My first thought too.

obviously this is just proof that chocolate is bad for you.. just dark chocolate though.. because milk chocolate is tasty

Ooohh.. down with Milk Chocolate - blech. Dark is the only way to go. 'course it would be nice to have it unleaded too.

Looks at Nick's post, "Hmmm, so, when can I expect new signs in my local stores offering leaded and unleaded pricing?"

After we consumed a box of the 87$ dark, we received trhe notice.

We asked: how much lead?
They replied (essentially): we can't tell you, but we're very, very sorry.

We: What was the order of magnitude of the contamination?

They: we can't tell you.

Being very very sorry and **not** giving specifics as to the recall is **not** being responsible.

The next message we was their Earth Day special announcement.

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WRT their specific INFO, it follows

4/11: Dagoba Chocolate Expanded Recall

Dearest Dagobians,

As we informed you last week, Dagoba is recalling our Eclipse 87%, Los Rios 68% and Prima Materia 100% products out of concern for the safety of our customers - our community. We are very sorry for this situation and want you to know that your safety and well-being are our primary concerns through this process.

The initial Certificates of Analyses on the cacao used in the products showed lead levels below FDA guidelines. However, follow up tests on these products, conducted by a third party lab, indicated that specific lots of these products had lead levels exceeding Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines. To verify these findings, we sent the same lots for testing at another third party lab and this second set of results found lead levels below FDA guidelines for these same items. We are proceeding with utmost caution because we care about our customers - our community.
After further consultation with the FDA, to be absolutely certain that we are ensuring the health and well-being of our customers, on April 7 we added two older lots of Eclipse and extended the date code range for Prima Materia and Eclipse broken bars. These changes are marked with an asterisk (*) in the list of lot codes below. We notified all distributors and retailers as soon as we made this decision on April 7 to ensure swift removal of these additional products from the market.

Since we initiated this recall, we have been asking customers to return recalled products with all other date codes. Dagoba is committed to ensuring that our customers are satisfied and healthy and we would like to clear all Los Rios, Eclipse and Prima Materia from the store shelves and your kitchen cabinet before we replace them with our specially marked reformulated products. This way, we will know that consumers will be assured they are enjoying only our reformulated products. As one of our supporters, we want you to have best product - fresh off the line.

Per FDA guidelines, all recalled products must be returned to the point of purchase and we're making this as easy as possible. Find out how to return recalled products at our website https://www.dagobachocolate.com/recall/recallfaq.html#returninfo, or contact us at 800-393-6075.

We understand that you may have questions and concerns. Our priority through this recall is addressing these to your satisfaction - by sharing the most accurate and necessary information in our website FAQ at http://www.dagobachocolate.com/recall/recallfaq.html, referring concerned customers to appropriate resources and experts when we don't have the answers, consulting experts to gather more of the information you need, removing all recalled products from the market immediately, investigating the problem thoroughly, and ensuring that this does not happen again.

Again, we deeply regret any inconvenience or concerns this may have caused and invite your questions and concerns. We are here to listen and answer your inquiries at 800-393-6075 or recall@dagobachocolate.com.

Sincere thanks as always for your ongoing support and partnership,

Frederick Schilling, Founder and Owner, and the Dagoba Team

If Mr. Schilling's last name was Cheney, would he not be accused of trying to kill off green thinkers?

Dagoba has posted an update on the lead levels since they sent that note:

Q: How much lead is in the recalled products?

A: The initial certificates of analysis on the cocoa used in the recalled products showed acceptable trace amounts of lead that were below FDA guidelines.

However, follow-up testing by two independent labs found lead levels both above and below FDA guidelines for the same lot numbers of the same items.

Given this wide variation, and because we do not want to underestimate or overestimate the risk of the recalled products, we are not sharing specific numbers or the range of the test results. In speaking with the FDA and toxicologists, we have learned that lead is not homogenous, and that there is disagreement about the correct method of testing. For this reason, we cannot promise that we will be able to release specific numbers or ranges in the future.

Please be reassured that we have released the information that that is most important - that our follow up testing showed lead levels above FDA guidelines in the recalled products. With this information, consumers will be aware of the problem and make informed choices to assess their situation - such as consulting with your doctor to determine whether additional testing is warranted. We are here to help through this process so please contact us if you have questions or need assistance.

I'm the Executive Director of a non-profit clinic in Portland, Oregon which offers free blood lead tests. It's helpful to know that a blood lead test mostly shows exposure which has occurred in the past 3-4 months, so it's good to get tested right away if you may have been exposed to lead. Portland-area residents can visit Josiah Hill III Clinic for the free test; you can see our schedule and contact us at www.jhillclinic.org.

I am a chocoholic and I am also diabetic. I was introduced the this wonderful new sugarfree chocolcat eproduct that has great health benefits and wanted to share this with all your readers.

I eat this product three times and day and my blood sugars hardly change at all! Check it out and see for yourself at www.themagicofchocolate.com

Thanks