Lighter Hearts

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With the exception of Dagoba, the chocolate industry has not been able to track down the sources for contamination. In 2002 the Cocoa Producers' Alliance (COPAL), an intergovernmental organization, identified several possibilities, including soil, air, pesticides and fertilizers; lead-based paints stored near the beans; the grinding and manufacturing process; mixtures and additives; and packaging and wrapping materials. However, a study published in the October 2005 Environmental Health Perspectives found that shipping and processing were the most likely sources for lead in the shell of the cocoa bean. "At any place from the farm to when the shell gets removed, lead may be introduced," says study author Charles Rankin, MS.

It's important to keep these findings in perspective, however, and not let them ruin your Valentine's Day. After all, there are other ways to buoy up your loved one's heart, but chocolate definitely won't sink it.

What You Can Do

*Adults: Enjoy dark chocolate and its health benefits, but eat in moderation to avoid calories as well as lead. Dark chocolate's antioxidant flavonoids can benefit your heart by reducing arterial plaque, improve the ability of blood vessels to relax and reduce clotting.

*Children: Give them chocolate sparingly, as their nervous systems are still developing and can sustain permanent harm from lead. "Candy should be a treat, something given sporadically. Just because of the caffeine, I'd give [children] no more than a piece of dark chocolate a day," says Domingo Piñero, Ph. D., a professor of nutrition at New York University.

*Because dark chocolate has more cocoa, it has both more flavonoids and more lead. Due to its intense flavor, though, smaller amounts can satisfy, so take tiny bites.

*Child labor and slavery on West African cocoa plantations remain problems (see sidebar): Choose Fair Trade chocolate to combat the abuse of children on plantations (see brands below).

*Help the environment and workers' welfare, by choosing brands certified as follows:

Organic and Fair Trade: Equal Exchange (www.equalexchange.org) and Green & Black's (www.greenandblacks.com)

Organic: Dagoba (www.dagobachocolate. com) and Newman's Own (www.newmansownorganics.com)

Rainforest Alliance: Arriba Plantations (www.echocolates.com)

For more brands, see the Smart Shoppers' Chocolate Card at www.thegreenguide. com/doc.mhtml?i=112& s=blooms.

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