Navitas Naturals is a company which offers organic whole food products to the public. Their cacao product in nibs and powder form are bestselling items on iHerb.

However, third-party testers have discovered that there are too much cadmium in these products coming from South America, even though these are organic in nature! The cadmium amount found in the cacao powder is 3x of that in the nibs.

Both exceed World Health Organisation (WHO) safety limit of 0.3mcg/g of Cadmium. We strongly suggest you do not take the risk, eat safe and get other brands with origin outside of South America.

To note, many other brands of cacao powder also failed the cadmium test other than Navitas Naturals, as long as these originate from South America.

The European Union will be banning cacao products with high cadmium levels starting in 2019. As such, it will be illegal to sell the above and similar products in Europe once this regulation takes effect.

To reduce risk of cadmium bio-accumulating in the body and reaching toxic levels, go for cacao nibs instead of cacao powder. Various nibs contain much lower cadmium levels which are deemed to be safe according to WHO standard (30mcg/g).

HERB SINGAPORE recommends this brand from iHerb as it is produced in our neigbouring country Indonesia using organic farming methods. Our criteria is always advocating local foods. For Singapore, the origins of such foods should fall within a 3-hour flight path.

Earth Circle Organics from Bali

NOTE: Cadmium is a type of heavy metal which is toxic to the human body, causing kidney damage, cardiovascular disease, skin disorders and much more. It is commonly found naturally in soils, alongside other heavy metals such as lead and arsenic.