Organic Chocolate 

Here you will find the best organic chocolate on the market! 

I have been searching for better chocolate brands since conventional chocolate and candy brands contain unhealthy and toxic ingredients such as artificial colorants, natural flavors, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), artificial vanillin bone-char sugar, and heavy metals!😮

Avoid Conventional Chocolate 

They are unhealthy and made with GMOs, pesticides, and controversial, toxic ingredients:

​❌ Corn Syrup: high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a highly processed sweetener made from GMO corn scratch.

 Artificial Color: petroleum-derived, this cheap ingredient is responsible for hyperactivity in children

❌ Artificial Flavors: petroleum-derived, it hides an undisclosed mix of solvents, preservatives, flavor modifiers…

❌ Natural Flavors: not a better option, it is added to addict you to the products so you will crave it for more 

Vanillin: cheap artificial vanilla flavor derived from wood or petrochemicals 

TBHQ: synthetic preservatives responsible for harming the immune system and provoking food allergies

PGPR: (polyglycerol polyricinoleate) cheap cocoa replacement 

Growth Hormones: found in conventional milk found in chocolate. Choose vegan or organic chocolate

 ​

Bone char sugar: found in conventional candies, cookies, chocolate, and other candies or treats. It is refined sugar that has been bleached with animal bones, cattle, and pig bones! 

The animal bones are used as decolorizing and deashing agents, particularly in cane sugar as this contains more colored impurities. Bone char possesses a low decoloration capacity and must be used in large quantities

It doesn’t sound much like a treat to me. Even though I am not vegan this sounds yummy.

Yes, bone char is used to bleach and filter refined sugar!

According to PETA: if you want vegan sugar, avoid all refined sugar, alternatives are Sucanat and turbinado which are not filtered with bone char. Or choose beet sugar!

NOTE: 🐰 Organic sugar found in certified organic chocolate and candies doesn’t have this process. Certified U.S. Department of Agriculture organic sugar cannot be filtered through bone char! So always pick USDA-certified organic sugar, or even better pick a more nutritious sweetener like the superfood manuka honey

Palm oil: palm oil is responsible for deforestation in Malaysia and Indonesia, and the extinction of Orangutans. Palm oil plantations are responsible for child labor and forced labor.

NOTE ABOUT PALM OIL: Nutiva organic and fair trade red palm oil is sustainably sourced from small organic family farms in Ecuador and does not lead to deforestation or harm to orangutans. Palm kernel oil (conflict palm oil) comes from Indonesia and Malaysia and it is responsible for rainforest destruction and human rights abuses. Many companies (like Nutella) use the conflict palm oil under different names such as “vegetable oil”, so be sure to read the labels!

Avoid Greenwashing Chocolate 

Some popular and organic chocolate brands have another issue. Even if they use simple and natural ingredients, they still could contain unhealthy amounts of heavy metals such as cadmium and lead.

Including these very popular and highly promoted chocolate brands: HU, Alter eco,  Green & Balck’s.

Consumer Reports found dangerous heavy metals in chocolate from Hershey’s, Theo, Trader Joe’s, and other popular brands. We tested 28 dark chocolate bars for lead and cadmium. To determine the risk posed by the chocolates in CR’s test, they used California’s maximum allowable dose level (MADL) for lead (0.5 micrograms) and cadmium (4.1mcg)

🔎Popular and highly promoted chocolate brands such as Hu, Alter Eco, Green & Black’s contain dangerous heavy metals in chocolate according to Consumer Reports (CR)

👉These brands contain unhealthy amounts of heavy metals and California Proposition 65 warning!

👉CR tested 28 dark chocolate bars for lead and cadmium:

 

High in Lead:                                                    

  • Hu

  • Chocolove

  • Endangered Species

  • Trader Joe’s

  • Lily’s

  • Lindt

  • Godiva

 

High in Cadmium:

  • Alter Eco

  • Beyond Good

  • Equal Exchange

  • Pascha

  • Scharffen Berger

  • Lindt

  • Dove

 

High in both:

  • Trader Joe’s

  • Green & Black’s

  • Lily’s

  • Theo

 

👉According to CR: “Chocolate makers should survey cacao-growing areas to determine cadmium levels, and favor beans from places with lower levels.”

​The Best Organic Chocolate 

I have been searching for better chocolate without the risks of unhealthy ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), artificial vanillin, bone-char sugar found in conventional candy brands, or palm oil, and heavy metals such as lead and cadmium found even in some organic chocolate brands. 

🌿 Here you will find only organic, healthy, sustainable chocolate with vegan options that taste better than conventional chocolate! Enjoy!

  • USDA Certified Organic   

  • Non-GMOs 

  • Gluten-free

  • Dairy-free

  • Plant-based

  • Vegan friendly

  • Kosher no corn syrup

  • Palm oil-free

  • Bone char-free 

 

My top recommendations are:

 

  • ✅ Taza which has been tested by Consumer Reports (CR) and lists Taza as a safer chocolate brand choice and the only USDA-certified organic in the list is Taza Chocolate. The company mixes beans from “different origins to ensure that the final product” has lower levels. 
  • ✅ Raaka Chocolate which is another approved brand USDA certified organic and California proposition 65 warning free.  Here is my Raaka 15% off code: PRETTYORGANICGIRL

 

Shop with my links to support my research!💖