LanceS wrote:Purchased this:
Chococru Extraordinary Flavanol Cocoa
Answer from CHOCOCRU- An important question, thank you. All our cocoa products receive a Certificate of Conformity which confirms that our cocoa conforms to current legislation as well as all the new stricter legislation to be implemented in 2019, regarding heavy metals. Cadmium is found naturally in the soil and can be particularly high in volcanic regions. Cocoa beans from Indonesia and South America for instance tend to have higher levels of cadmium. Cadmium levels in CHOCOCRU are well below the legislation requirement. This is partly due to the region in which our beans are grown, as well as the methods used in processing the beans. Our cocoa is unusual in that it contains 9-11%% fat (cocoa butter) whereas most cocoas contain 22-24% fat. Our natural cold pressed, fat reduction method also helps remove cadmium residue. This further reduces the cadmium levels well below the average threshold. Should you require further detailed information, please contact Maria at CHOCOCRU. we will be happy to assist you further.
Not sure whether they meet Consumer Union or whatever requirements for cadmium and lead, but have to imagine they could answer the question for you. Please do your own due diligence, I pretty briefly surveyed the field, haven't tried to verify their flavanol / pho9lyphenol claims or tried to look into contaminents etc. Seemed to be an interesting option.
Very interesting -- From a bit of Googling, it sounds like the new 2019 EU cadmium limit is set at 0.8ppm and the "reduced fat" Chococru SFA content comes in at 1.9g SFA / 28g -- still 25%+ more saturated fat than the fermented WFN powder @ 1.5g SFA / 28g, which would also pass this 2019 EU heavy metal limit.
I find it a little odd that the WFN cacao powder is listed as "High in Vitamin C --
35% DV in a 28g serving" while every other cacao powder seems to list
0.0%. With vitamin c boosting metal absorption, I'm not sure if this is a feature.
The net carbs in WFN cocoa powder is close to 40g/100g, while Chococru is down around 14g. Although, the fiber in WFN is up around 25g/100g while the fiber in chococru is around 16g/100g. Looking at Net Carbs : Fiber, Chococru seems ideal.
The ORAC values seem tricky to compare. Chococru lists their powder at 200,000/100g ORAC -- that seems
pretty high (and
an oddly even number?) WFN claims their 154,900 μmole TE/100g (ORAC) unfermented raw powder is "higher than any other raw cacao powder." I also found
this chocolate powder, which doesn't seem to make an effort to reduce their SFA content -- their ORAC value is listed as 405,600 / 100g?
Going by Polyphenol content might be a better metric than ORAC:
http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v64/ ... 221t1.html
It looks like cacao powder usually clocks in at 3,448mg/100g with Chococru listing theirs at 8,300 mg/100g.
There's also Cocoavia extract which tests very low in heavy metals and is listed as "saturated fat free" with 5,514mg/100g of polyphenols. Although, it contains the least amount of fiber and 3x the net carbs as Chococru with added maltodextrin (a sugar with a glycemic index above 100.)
I think I'm sold on the Chococru as an ideal balance of different factors. Thanks for the suggestion Lance!