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LeadinFoodandChocolate

None of this should be regarded as authorative or as advice. It is just a place I am collecting information.

• Interim Reference Level

https://www.fda.gov/food/metals-and-your-food/lead-food-foodwares-and-dietary-supplements" The FDA assesses whether the amount of lead in a food product is high enough to raise a person’s blood lead level to a point of concern. To do this, the agency calculated a maximum daily intake for lead from food, called the Interim Reference Level (IRL). In determining the IRL, the FDA took into account the amount of a particular food a person would need to consume daily, as well as other factors, that would result in blood lead levels of 3.5 ug/dL, the current level at which the CDC recommends clinical monitoring of lead exposure in children.

The FDA’s current IRL is calculated at 2.2 µg per day for children and 8.8 µg per day for females of childbearing age (updated in 2022). These levels allow for differences across human populations and are set nearly ten times less than the actual amount of lead intake from food that would be required to reach the CDC’s blood reference level. The level for females of childbearing age is to protect against possible fetal exposure in women who are unaware that they are pregnant, and against infant exposure during nursing. "

• Consumer Reports

https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-safety/lead-and-cadmium-in-dark-chocolate-a8480295550/ "we used California's maximum allowable dose level (MADL) for lead (0.5 micrograms) and cadmium (4.1mcg). Shown are the percentages of the MADL supplied in an ounce of each chocolate."

• NPR on Consumer Reports Reporthttps://www.npr.org/2022/12/17/1143239430/dark-chocolate-lead-cadmium-consumer-reports
  • USDA says "2.2 micrograms for children and 8.8 micrograms for women of childbearing age. "
• California Lead https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/chemicals/lead-and-lead-compounds

"Safe Harbor Levels Cancer No Significant Risk Level (NSRL) - Oral: 15 µg/day Reproductive Toxicity Maximum Allowable Dose Level (MADL) : 0.5 µg/day"

• California Cadmium https://oehha.ca.gov/chemicals/cadmium

"Cancer No Significant Risk Level (NSRL) - Inhalation: 0.05 µg/day Reproductive Toxicity Maximum Allowable Dose Level (MADL) - Oral: 4.1 µg/day Last NSRL/MADL Revision: 2001" "The maximum allowable daily level (MADL) for cadmium exposure by the oral route is 4.1 μg/day. This value was derived as described below, based on a developmental toxicity study in mice conducted by Ali et al. (1986). "https://oehha.ca.gov/media/downloads/crnr/cadmium20madl.pdf