15 dollars for 8 pieces of chocolate….?! That’s all I could think about on a recent trip to the mall while walking past the famous chocolatier, Godiva. Are you getting conned by this cheap & toxic chocolate company? I mean 15 dollars for 8 pieces of what? What is Godiva doing that make these chocolates so much more expensive than other brands of chocolate? Is it handcrafted? No. Is it made with organic milk and cream? No. What about real pure cane sugar? No. It must have real vanilla? No! (They actually use artificial vanilla made from a wood by-product!) And they obviously do not package their chocolate in a box made of real gold. So what is it?
It is marketing, marketing, marketing and trickery at its best!
Godiva chocolate has been tricking many of us for years into believing that paying a premium for chocolate means you are getting higher quality treats, but this can’t be further from the truth! Take a look at the ingredients in one of their chocolates and you’ll quickly realize what they’re selling are fancy-looking cheap ingredients wrapped up in a pretty gold box. How are they getting away with this? And what about all the other popular chocolate brands, are they selling us junk ingredients too?
Let’s be real here – eating chocolate on occasion is absolutely an okay treat – but there’s a lot of consideration that needs to be made when choosing how to get your fix. Unfortunately, our food system’s top priority is the bottom line so we need to pay attention to the ingredient label on every single product we buy. Chocolate can provide a daily dose of much needed antioxidants or it can be a chemistry experiment full of man-made artificial ingredients. I do not like supporting brands that try to trick me into buying questionable ingredients. Voting with your dollars is one of the only ways to voice disgust for the unhealthy chemicals in food, and it can also directly influence change by hitting the bottom line of the food companies that continue to sells us cheap, harmful, and potentially dangerous ingredients.
Just look at the ingredients in popular chocolate candy out there; they are despicable and it’s why I don’t buy these brands any longer, even for an occasional “treat”:
Hershey’s, Ghiradelli, Russell Stover, Godiva, Nestle and M&M/Mars all use unhealthy and harmful ingredients like:
- High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) – Princeton University found that HFCs commonly found in candy prompts considerably more weight gain than conventional sugars and is linked to obesity. The latest statistics are startling and show that 42% of us will be obese by 2030 and obesity will be the leading preventable cause of death in America by 2019. We must do everything we can to stop this slippery slope by not consuming chemically refined sugars that make us eat more than we should.
- Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) – We don’t know for sure how much of these candy brand products are genetically modified since they are currently not required to be labeled in this U.S.A. (Hopefully that will change soon if Prop 37 passes in California!) But we do know that the consumption of GMO foods poses a serious threat to our health and has been linked to toxicity, cancer, allergic reactions and fertility issues. It’s really hard to find a chocolate these days without the ingredient “soy lecithin,” which helps keep chocolate smooth and together. Unfortunately soy is one of the most common crops to be genetically modified. And even the sugar that chocolate contains can be from genetically modified sugar beets! When buying any chocolate (or anything in general), remember to read the label just to make sure all ingredients are listed organic or Non-GMO Project verified to avoid GMO’s.
- Growth Hormone – Chocolate usually contains dairy, which means that unless it’s organic chocolate, you are likely consuming milk from cows that have been conventionally raised with antibiotics and growth hormones. rBGH is a GMO found in cheap conventional dairy products that many of these chocolate brands use to make their milk chocolate. That means that by simply eating a piece of chocolate you or your family could be ingesting a substance that in excess levels has been reported to cause breast, colon and prostate cancers.
- Partially Hydrogenated Oils (a.k.a. Trans Fat) – The 4th ingredient in Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Mint is partially hydrogenated soybean oil. This is alarming because trans fat has been shown to be deadly even in small amounts. “Previous trials have linked even a 40-calorie-per-day increase in trans fat intake to a 23% higher risk of heart disease.” 40 calories is a mere 2% of a typical 2000 calorie per day diet – and could easily be the amount of trans fat found in many types of chocolate.
- Artificial Colors – We’ve discussed artificial food coloring a lot before, but I think it needs a little more air time, considering we are talking about chocolate – a substance that is usually white, brown, or dark brown and doesn’t actually need coloring! I was floored to find coloring in Godiva’s 8 piece gold box and Russell Stover’s pecan clusters. When companies manufacture chocolates using chemical fillers and fake ingredients that don’t have natural colors, they have to add color to trick our senses into making us think we are eating something real. The most widely used dyes are contaminated with known carcinogens, linked to cancer and known to cause hyperactivity in children. Also, watch out for “caramel coloring” that may sound natural but is not. It’s often manufactured by heating ammonia and sulfites under high pressure, which creates carcinogenic compounds that are also linked to cancer.
- Artificial Flavors – Thousands of secret food chemicals can be hidden under the label “artificial flavors.” Some of these chemicals are actually never reviewed by the FDA because they are used in such a small amount. Food company scientists develop ways to use chemically derived ingredients that turn on and off certain taste buds depending upon the end goal – changing something from bitter to sweet, and so on. Allowing artificial flavors in your diet gives these scientists the ability to mess with your senses and trick you to like, eat, and buy more fake food than you would otherwise.
Luckily for us not all chocolate is designed to trick you or have scary ingredients. There are many choices available that are delicious and actually nutritious!
- Alter Eco Organic Chocolate – This is my absolute favorite organic chocolate right now. I like to choose organic chocolate whenever possible, to lessen my exposure to pesticides. The cocoa bean, from which chocolate is produced, is one of the most heavily sprayed crops in the world. The Dark Quinoa Chocolate bar tastes just like a “Nestle Crunch,” and the Dark Coconut Toffee bar totally satisfies your “Butterfinger” craving. I have a hard time keeping these bars in the house… my husband and I seem to always fight over the last piece.
- UnReal Candy – Although Unreal isn’t certified organic, they make a point to choose sustainably sourced chocolate and use no GMOs, growth hormone or antibiotics in their milk chocolate. They’ve perfectly reinvented classic candy favorites likes M&Ms, Snickers and Reese’s Peanut Butter cups without most of the junk. Now only if they could do this for all the other candies out there like candy corn! They make perfectly sized mini-treats you can find at most drug stores and some Targets, which is why they made my Non-GMO candy list.
- Kopali Chocolate Covered Organic Superfoods – Their organic chocolate covered goji berries are addictive and a tasty alternative to “Raisinets.” I love goji berries because they are less sweet and more chewy than raisins and have one of the highest concentrations of antioxidants of any food. Antioxidants are very important because they fight all the free radicals and toxins you can accumulate in your body that cause aging and disease.
- Righteously Raw – This may be one of the most health conscious organic chocolates available on the market that actually tastes good! This chocolate is completely raw and made with several types of superfoods. You are getting 100% of the benefits from eating chocolate when it is in its raw state. Righteously Raw just came out with bite size flavors that I feel great about eating everyday with no guilt because there is no refined sugar! The mint is my favorite and reminiscent of “Andes Creme De Menthe” chocolates that are full of artificial food coloring and trans fat.
- NibMor Organic Chocolate – I met the founders of this whimsical chocolate company recently at a fundraiser for Prop 37 in NYC. I had honestly never heard of them or tried their chocolate before. Luckily I got a few samples to take home… and let me just tell you, they did not make it home! I ate them all on the airplane and I’ve been buying little boxes of their perfectly sized squares called “daily dose” ever since! The addition of cacao nibs to their chocolates adds a nice crunch and ups the percentage of real cacao you are getting per bite.
What about Lindt Chocolate?
Sadly Lindt chocolates contain some unwanted ingredients such as soya lethicin and artificial flavorings. Here is a link to their website and you can click on nutritional facts to see what is in them:
http://www.lindtusa.com/shop/chocolates/milk-chocolate/milk-chocolate-lindor-truffles-75-pc-bag
Isn’t Lindt imported from Switzerland where GMO’s are banned?…
Not all Lindt is made the same. See the ingredients in the 90% bar.
http://www.lindtusa.com/shop/chocolates/dark-chocolate/90-cocoa-excellence-bar
I noticed that FB didn’t show a list of ingredients for the chocolates she loves.
Lindt 85% Cocoa Excellence Bar is my go to chocolate with Lindt. No Soy issues or questionable flavoring issues.
What about Sees candies? I can only guess but my 14 year old son is inquiring…
I have searched all over the internet and their website and cannot find the ingredients. So I’m guessing they contain some of the same bad ingredients as the other large brands. You could always contact them and ask for their ingredient list.
I was wondering about Sees. I tend to figure that unless the go out of their way to advertise organic or GMO free then they are all the same. Sad because I do love Sees Candy.
http://www.sees.com/index.cfm/about_us/frequent_questions#preserves
I used to love Lindt milk chocolate. However it is made from non-organic chocolate heavily sprayed with pesicides, RbGH hormones in milk, most likely GMO derived sugar and GMO soy lecithin. Now Ive discovered Theo chocolate, and its the best!! Its made in WA state so may not be everywhere.
You can buy the Theo’s Chocolate on Amazon if you don’t live in Washington State.
Theo is the best! And fortunately they are sold in many local markets as well, so you can often find them at co-ops if you have one in your area. They do have specialty bars that aren’t sold a stores farther from Washington, like the coconut curry milk chocolate, so those you might have to order.
Theo is the best! Made in USA of organic ingredients and NO soy (super hard to find). Organic, non-gmo, fair trade, small business, etc. Seriously why would anyone buy the junk anymore? I used to buy Endangered Species but they are not organic. Black & Green is owned by Kraft so I stay away from that too.
When you compare prices the garbage stuff is charging almost as much and it is made of all kinds of crazy chemicals. I will never spend any hard earned money on mainstream brands again.
Endangered Species is organic.
http://chocolatebar.com/pages.php?pageid=56
Jennifer- not all of them are. I have a bar next to me and it only has 3 of those certifications.
Wow! This chocolate looks fantastic! I will be sure to look into ordering some in the future. Thanks for sharing Pam.
This is news I needed to read. I have gotten a bit addicted to Lindor Truffles, and thanks to your posting this information I will be stopping this unnecessary habit.
Thank you very very much.
How do you know they are “heavily sprayed”? They say ” The use of pesticides in the production of raw materials for chocolate is generally low. Nevertheless, Lindt & Sprüngli stringently tests its chocolate for over 200 different pesticides…Lindt & Sprüngli does not use any raw materials that have been genetically modified or that are derived from genetically modified organisms, as long as non-modified raw materials are available. Until now, it has been possible to follow this policy in all LINDT products complying at the same time with the strictest food regulations concerning use and labelling of GMOs.”–http://www.lindt.com/swf/eng/company/social-responsibility/sustainably-sourced/sourcing-our-ingredients-sustainability-at-the-outset/ … and what if you choose dark chocolate to avoid a lot of milk products? Or does anybody know of chocolate truffles with all good ingredients?
Despite whatever Lindt says, cocoa is one of the most heavily sprayed crops on earth (unless it’s organic).
http://www.eatingrules.com/2012/10/unprocessed-and-ethical/
Lindt does not use organic cocoa, and there is a reason for that. If they are concerned about pesticides, why not go organic? Cost?
They are also not nonGMO Certified, and admit some of their sugar comes from sugar beets (an approved GMO). If they are not certified, there is no oversight of their nonGMO claims. So, I remain skeptical. This is beginning to sound like a good FoodBabe follow-up investigation!
Until Lindt is certified nonGMO and organic, I’m not buying it! I will stick with my Theo dark chocolate. 🙂
Thanks Pam, I definitely won’t be buying lindt anymore. too many issues involved. They are very popular, and looks to be a huge producer, so if they would make cleaner products, it would have a big impact.
Anyway, there is a downside to chocolate. The stimulants, or some compounds in it can lead to adrenal burn out, so is not recommended for those already under a lot of stress.
And I heard also that milk powder, which is often an ingredient in chocolate, is a carcinogen. … and hormones and pesticides in milk products… I give up!
Besides all the unwanted ingredients in Lind and other chocolates, my problem is that many don’t use enough cocoa butter any more but have replaced it with butter, which I can’t eat. I have to read the label of all chocolates to get one I can eat.
You might have missed Green&Blacks. Organic, probably non GM, awesome, high cacao dark chocolate. Not sure about their milk chocolate.
Since they are certified organic, they are by definition non-GMO. That said, ownership in the chocolate world is just as important as ingredients (to me) and it important to know that G&B was bought by Cadbury, which was then taken over by Kraft Foods, part of which (including the part that makes G&B) is now called Mondelēz International, and whose products include: Cadbury and Milka chocolate, Nabisco and Oreo cookies, Tang and Trident gum.
Thank you for the info, I will consider it.
Thank you for your research! I am trying my best to change our “old” ways of shopping over to a healthly way of eating/living. Without you, this would be near impossible I truly believe. .
That’s great! I’m so glad Vani could help!
I eat some Lindt 90% dark chocolate is this safe?
I looked at their ingredients and this bar includes: chocolate, cocoa butter, cocoa powder processed with alkali, sugar, bourbon vanilla beans. This is not ideal due to the fact that they do not contain organic ingredients but this is a lot better than some of the other brands!
85% has a cleaner ingredient list than the 90% does.
I love love LOVE Vosges chocolates. They sell it at Whole Foods so I’m assuming that’s safe???
More importantly, I know you wrote an article about Trader Joe’s – any insight on their chocolate? I use their 72% chocolate bars for things like chocolate chip cookies. Thanks!
So sorry to tell you, but you can’t blindly trust Whole Foods anymore or Trader Joe’s. They recently agreed not to fight GMO’s in their stores. Wish I still had the link, but if you try searching, it will probably turn up. We can only trust ourselves now to read and understand ingredients.
I don’t believe this is true at least not for whole foods, they want all GMO’s out of their stores by 2016. It is just a start and will take time, but it is more then most stores are willing to do!
Have you all tried Theo Organic Fair Trade Salted Almond Chocolate Bars? Sooo delicious!!!
The Theo’s Chocolate is awesome, all flavors!1 Went on their factory tour this summer and did a lot of taste testing. 🙂
Taza Chocolate in Somerville MA has awesome organic fair trade chocolate. I pay extra, but eat less and get my fix everyday. Love it!!
what about the protein bars?
I like Lilly dark chocolate bars. They are made with Stevia, which you recently investigated, but I hope Lilly uses natural whole stevia. I also love Green & Black. Unfortunately their milk chocolate with almonds is my favorite, but dairy is not to be trusted.
Equal Exchange chocolate is as good as it gets – tastes great, Organic and Fair Trade. And you can get 15% off through November 30th using the code HWEEN13 at their web store – http://shop.equalexchange.coop/!
I like Justin’s. The dark chocolate peanut butter cups are my favorite.
Me too! They are local to me too which I love.
Theos dark chocolate salted almond….hands down…the best…I’m glad I discovered them. I’m addicted and eat chocolate everyday. If you’re going to eat chocolate, it has to be quality. I don’t want soy lecithin and liqueurs and non-organic ingredients. Ugh!
Everyone is raving about Theo! I absolutely need to try it. And as a fellow chocolate addict I totally agree John!
Haha! It is the best chocolate I’ve ever had.
Theo is reasonably priced on vitacost which delivers anywhere. Also a new product is OCHO bar here on the West cost… It’s pretty amazing!
Of your favorite organic chocolate listed, are any of them Free Trade? This is really important with chocolate…. a lot of chocolate comes from slave labor.
Giddy YoYo! We have it in Canada, not sure about elsewhere…it’s epic.
My mouth is watering at the ingredients! I wish I lived in Canada!
Truly Organic Foods (http://www.trulyorganicfoods.com/giddy-yoyo-products.php) sell Giddy YoYo chocolate and it is priced in U.S. dollars as well as Canadian, so I assume they will ship to the U.S.
Lillie Belle Farms hand-made chocolate, from Southern Oregon, is wonderful.
While we’re on the subject of chocolate, care to weigh in on The Melting Pot?? I’m guessing not so good?? Thanks!
I love all these suggestions. I just hate I can’t even get organic BUTTER where I live…it’s awful 🙁 Any ideas for hot chocolate?
In Canada, I get 90% Lindt chocolate made in France. I know the French do not use GMO ingredients, so I have it on occasion. I do try to have the organic brands too like Giddy Yoyo, Chocosol and Vega here in Canada. I have checked out the Lindt website and they claim to use clean ingredients while not saying it is totally organic. Thoughts?
Also, I have noticed that the American 90% Lindt is produced in the US using alkali-processed cocoa.
The Lindt 85% bar has cleaner ingredients than the 90% bar.
We found Alter Ego chocolate this year after my daughter was found to be very allergic to soy. Thank goodness that it is soy free and very delicious!
vani, what about See’s Candies? is that as bad as godiva and the others too??
I recently purchased See’s and I was wondering about the same. I see that they have answered some of the questions on their FAQ. So far so good as they do not use artificial preservatives or HFCS. Not sure about being organic, artificial colors, etc.
http://www.sees.com/index.cfm/about_us/frequent_questions#preserves
Would certainly love Vani’s study on these. 🙂
I adore See’s but I’m sure it doesn’t have all-good stuff in them…seems to be a tiny bit better than others, though. I would love a study on them as well. At least they are only a once or twice a year treat in our house.
Our chocolate boutique offers organic, handmade, non-GMO and no artificial ingredients. We offer vegan choices, exciting flavour combinations, as well as paleo-friendly raw bars. Check it out: http://www.chocolatasm.com Happy Holidays!
Yum! I’m looking at your website now! Thanks Shawn. Happy Holidays to you too!
I’ve tried Alter Eco and Nibmor, both EXC. Recently tried the Life Extension Organic with Xylitol, which is a healthy product, but didn’t like the taste. Will try the Theo’s from Amazon!
Vani what about NEXT organic chocolate? Are they safe?
I looked at their ingredients and they are all organic so it should be okay.
I’m wondering about See’s Candies too. They are my FAVORITE!!! 🙂
I am receiving one heck of an education from you, Vanni! Thank you for all your hard work ~ you are my go-to girl for information!
I’m so happy you are learning so much Susan! We appreciate your support.
I wish you lived in Colorado Springs, CO to review a new healthy raw chocolate company. It’s called Radiantly Raw and they are on FB but no website yet as they are so new. Check out the FB page and Message the owner (my daughter-in-law) Jaquie to see what’s in them. They are kept frozen as there ingredients are organic and raw. She has 12 flavors and they are selling better than she imagined. Stay tuned for her website and shipping options which are both forthcoming!!
Yum! I just looked at the facebook page and it looks fantastic! Love the name. Thanks for sharing Janis!
Great post!! and the big bags of unreal candy is on sale at Target!!! great for decorating gingerbread houses…
seed&bean chocolate company handmade in england, organic, fairtrade, vegan….their extra dark lavender chocolate is the best ever. they carry it at whole foods in london, not sure if it’s possible to get in the states.
Sounds delicious! I love lavender. I never thought about pairing it with chocolate!
seed&bean chocolate company handmade, organic, vegan and fairtrade in england. their extra dark lavender is to die for. whole foods carries it in london but don’t know about the US.
Some of the chocolates you recommended contain soy. The companies claim the amounts are so minute that it won’t harm anyone, but I highly recommend everyone avoid at all cost.
Fair Trade! Fair Trade! Fair Trade!…. Over 85% of all cacao is sourced from large corporate plantations on the west coast of Africa and South America the uses forced child labor. Google search words chocolate and slavery and you can do your own research. If you are buying chocolate that is not certified Fair Trade the probability is extremely high that you are supporting child slavery. There are many very good brands including Divine and Equal Exchange.
My favorite chocolates are rum nougats, marzipan, raspberry buttercreme and scotch kisses all made by See’s. This is why GMO’s will stilll be around because I will still buy and eat these regardless. Life is too short for me to worry about the harmful, fatting ingrediants, as long as I eat them moderately. But thanks for the hard work in finding out what goes into those delicious treats. 🙂
what about Vosges chocolates?
also products that contain palm oil contribute to the slaughter or orangutans. just throwing that out there.
I’ve been avoiding reading this article, because I didn’t want to know that the dark chocolate Godiva truflles that I was eating, were so bad…. Wow. What a disappointment. Thank you for sharing, and helping us to be more aware.
Dear FB:
What do you think about Sunspire grain sweetened vegan chocolate chips? I use them for baking & making candy. Thank you!
I am disappointed there are no chocolate collections or filled chocolates on Babe’s list. 🙁
I buy really expensive handmade chocolates and just have one or two but I also like good ole See’s candy or Godiva once in awhile. Really, its not like I’m going to eat a whole box, every day, for the rest of my life. I honestly don’t think a couple of small chocolates will kill you, unless, of course, you are allergic. My grandfather liked the Whitman’s samplers and he lived to be 94. I live on a ranch so my chances of getting kicked by a horse and getting hurt is more than it would be eating a chocolate every now and then. Now if I was eating a chocolate AND got kicked by a horse at the same time, now that is a problem. Live once in awhile, have a piece of dark chocolate and a glass of an exceptional red wine.
Great article! Definitely sharing. I have been baking with Equal Exchange Organic Panama Extra Dark 80%. Thanks to you I just checked the ingredient list: Organic Chocolate Liquor, Organic Raw Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter and Organic Ground Vanilla Beans.
Everything from the big, US based chocolate makers is chemical, GMO laden dreck. Avoid it at all costs. It’s not too hard to find good chocolate, that is certified organic, non GMO and made from fair trade cocoa. It’s not only good for the planet, it has a real chocolate taste. It’s not some pail, washed out version of chemical cocoa that the US based chocolate giants try to dump on us.
Thoughts on chocolove??
I work for Chocolove and we do have 3 Organic Fair Trade bars. While the rest are not Organic, we are IMO Certified (European Certifier for “Fair Trade”) and we use Belgian Chocolate which doesn’t allow GMO’s. We are also in the process of getting our non-GMO Verified Certification!
It’s hands down the best tasting chocolate out there!
What about Rocky Mountain Chocolate? I was told that they are made in store. But then again the person who told me this wasn’t a worker or anything so I don’t know. http://rmcf.com/nm/taos50464/products.asp I don’t think it has anything artificial or toxic in it. I could be wrong though…. I’m diabetic so I don’t usually have chocolate, but there sugar free is to die for and actually taste like normal non-sugar free chocolate (which is also really rich). Every other sugar free chocolate is disgusting to put it nicely. what do you think? Does it fall under the toxic category or the non-toxic/organic one?
I was all set to buy some Theo chocolate from Amazon, then
I saw the fact it could be manufactured with soy and wheat. So everyone is raving about it, but it is not gluten free. Any more info would be great! Looks like Alter Eco, Equal Exchange or Giddy Yoyo are the best choices?
By the way, I spelled my name wrong….its Sue!
I found Zazubean today…great! Fair trade, organic, good ingredients!
Can anyone sprak to the Theo question I had? Its now gone on sale at my local health food store 2/$5.00! I want to take advantage butmnot if it has soy in it. Zazubean has a good list of ingredients but not as cheap and no 85% I don’t think.
What about Sees Candy in California?
What do you think about UNREAL Candy. I recently ran across this in Target and it looks good and tastes great!
I should have included the website. Here it is:
http://getunreal.com/nutty-one
If this one has already been asked, I’m sorry…but what about Justin’s organic peanut butter cups?