Heavy Metals in Cacao: Pacha Mana's Low Test Results

Heavy Metal Safe Cacao

Heavy metal concerns in chocolate have sparked fear among consumers, but in reality, not all cacao carries the same risk.

Rest assured, cacao is part of our daily ritual—we drink it, share it with those we love, and stand by its safety with complete confidence. This article will hopefully dispel fear, uncertainty and doubts about cacao and its safety.

At Pacha Mana, we prioritize clean, high-quality cacao and have the lab results to back it up. This article will cover:

Pacha Mana’s latest heavy metal test results.
Why high-elevation cacao, like Chuncho cacao, naturally has lower heavy metals.
How much cacao you would need to consume to reach unsafe levels.
The truth behind different testing methods and fear-based marketing.

We encourage you to read the whole article so you can gain more insight and knowledge about this topic. We have spent years researching this here at Pacha Mana. Let’s start with a quick summary for those just looking for the numbers.

Quick Summary: Pacha Mana’s Heavy Metal Test Results

Lead (Pb):	Cadmium (Cd):
< 0.010 PPM (10 ppb)	0.126 PPM

Click Here for our lab results

These levels are well below both California Prop 65 and European Union safety limits.

So, why is our cacao naturally lower in heavy metals?

Main Factors:

Regenerative farming practices.
High elevation growing conditions and soil quality.
Clean post-harvest facilities where lead contamination is a nonissue. Lead is a post-harvest contaminant and not absorbed by the soil.

How Pacha Mana Cacao Compares to Global Standards

Cadmium: 0.126 ppm → Meets all EU and Prop 65 safety limits, and is WELL below standards.
Lead: 0.010 ppm → Lower than EU standards and California Prop 65’s strictest threshold. .001 more ppm lower and our test would read non-detectable This means Pacha Mana’s cacao is well within the “safety margins” for daily consumption. Our high-elevation Peruvian Chuncho cacao is not only ceremonial-grade but also naturally low in heavy metals, making it one of the cleanest and safest choices available.

Clearing Up Fear in the Cacao Market

There has been a rise in fear-based messaging from a Consumer Reports article that broke in 2023 around heavy metals in chocolate, often without full context.

Things to Watch Out For:

Regulating to zero PPM, that is often seen as an idyllic gold standard with heavy metals, even thought it is an impossible feat.
Some brands report heavy metal levels without comparing them to actual safety thresholds, making safe products seem risky.
Many articles fail to distinguish between total metal content and bioavailability. Not all heavy metals present in food are absorbed by the body.
Some companies use different measurement units (PPM vs. PPB), making direct comparisons difficult. PPM is the standard measurement.
CA Prop 65 regulations are based on a mechanism called the Threshold for Safety, which overregulates by a factor of 1000! While lawsuits have occurred, this remains the strictest method for regulating lead and cadmium levels even if the threshold for safety is too high, as some critics offer.

What About Other Foods That Contain Higher Cadmium and Lead?

While cacao often gets singled out in heavy metal discussions, many everyday foods contain cadmium and lead—yet there’s not as many fear-based articles around them. Here are a few examples:

Spinach & Leafy Greens:A top source of cadmium due to its absorption from high phosphate soils (we will highlight high phosphate soils in another blog).
Sunflower Seeds: Often contain higher cadmium levels than cacao, because it is a bioaccumulator and typically grown in monocultural environments.
Shellfish: Lead and cadmium accumulate in seafood due to ocean contamination.
Rice: A well-known food with high arsenic and cadmium levels due to its growing conditions, it thrives in moist, boggy soil often found in lowland regions where rain runoff accumulates.
Baking Powder: Some brands contain trace lead, yet it’s rarely discussed. There are safe options that do exist.

Yet, you don’t see fear-based campaigns warning people to stop eating spinach or rice. Nor should they in our opinion. Most of these foods, if sourced consciously, are equally as safe.

Why is Cacao Treated Differently?

The truth is, heavy metals exist naturally in many foods, and what really matters is overall exposure, proper sourcing, and a healthy body. Healthy bodies can eliminate most heavy metals like lead and cadmium.

Pacha Mana Cacao contains lower cadmium and lead than many common foods—and is well within all safety guidelines.

The Truth About Pacha Mana Cacao:

Our test results show lower heavy metal levels than most brands on the market.
We exceed industry safety standards, ensuring our cacao is safe for daily consumption.
We believe in facts over fear—providing full transparency, lab results and education so you can make informed choices.

We aim to educate and empower consumers with real data and responsible sourcing, rather than fueling unnecessary fear.

How Much Cacao Would You Need to Consume for Heavy Metals to be Harmful?

~ Fact: Even if cacao contains some trace heavy metals, the actual risk depends on how much you consume.

~ Reality Check: You’d need to eat over 20 servings of Pacha Mana cacao daily to even approach Prop 65 limits on lead—an amount no one consumes regularly.

Absorption is a huge factor in this discussion. Here’s what one medical toxicologist says about absorption:

Your overall health, diet, genetics, and the type of heavy metal compounds you’re exposed to can influence how you are affected by the exposures. As Dr. Stolbach explains: “Lead and cadmium are handled slightly differently by the body, but they are not completely absorbed, so much of what you take passes through you after you consume it. In both cases, lack of another key mineral predisposes to increased absorption. Decreased iron intake increased cadmium absorption and decreased calcium intake increases lead absorption.”

The bottom line: Regular cacao consumption is completely safe, especially with brands like Pacha Mana that source responsibly. Regulating to zero heavy metals is an impossible feat and misses other contributing factors.

Again, Rest assured, cacao is part of our daily ritual—we drink it, share it with those we love, and stand by its safety with complete confidence.

Why High-Elevation Chuncho Cacao Has Lower Heavy Metals

Cacao absorbs heavy metals primarily from the soil and certain environmental factors reduce this risk. Many plants, including cacao, rice, spinach, kale, carrots, beets, sunflowers, mushrooms, tea leaves, cannabis and coffee are all heavy bioaccumulators, meaning they absorb and store heavy metals, minerals, and other compounds from the soil.

While these are incredible qualities of these plants, this is why sourcing everything consciously is SO important! The health of the soil is directly correlated to the health of our bodies.

High-Elevation Cacao = Cleaner Soil & Less Contamination

High-altitude cacao, like Chuncho cacao, grows in areas where cadmium levels in the soil are naturally lower.
These regions typically have volcanic soil, which has different mineral compositions that prevent excessive metal absorption when there are no pollutants.
Unlike lowland cacao, which is often exposed to industrial pollutants and contaminated water sources, high-altitude cacao is more isolated from heavy metal contamination. Think “heavy metals”, and how they naturally settle to lower elevation environments due to density and rain runoff.

By sourcing cacao from clean, regenerative, high-elevation farms, Pacha Mana ensures naturally lower heavy metal levels.

Final Thoughts: What This Means for You

Pacha Mana cacao has some of the lowest heavy metal levels in the industry.
High-elevation cacao, like Chuncho, is naturally lower in cadmium and lead.
You’d have to eat extreme amounts of cacao daily for heavy metals to be a concern.
Not all cacao brands are transparent—always check test results and sourcing.