Letters to the editor

PCC replies: Great questions! There is no need to pre-register for wine tastings. These are free sampling events that we put on to provide an opportunity for education and connection in our stores. You will find the list of scheduled tasting times here, though schedules can vary with holidays or special events so it never hurts to call the store ahead to confirm. You may also be interested in our special event with PCC’s Wine Guys later this year; click here for details.

PCC replies: Thank you for contacting us about the recent Consumer Reports article on cadmium and lead levels in dark chocolate. We understand and share your concerns about heavy metal contamination in foods. PCC has been tracking and taking action on this issue where possible for many years. You can find an extensive set of questions and answers on the issue here, but some highlights include:

Heavy metals occur naturally, especially in volcanic soils of Latin America. Since humans began using heavy metals in many industrial applications and consumer products, like leaded gasoline or heavy metal-based pesticides, they have been released into the environment in forms that can accumulate in water, soil, and air, thus leading to contaminated water, soil, and many different foods (e.g., rice, sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach and more). According to the Consumer Reports article, lead is more likely to contaminate chocolate during the processing phase, whereas cadmium accumulates in the cacao trees from the soil. 

K’UL, the producer of PCC Chocolate, tests every batch of cacao beans for heavy metals. In response to this report, K’UL has now run some tests on the finished product and are working with suppliers to minimize heavy metal levels, such as diversifying cocoa sourcing while maintaining its commitment to supporting local, fair-trade producers.

PCC also reached out to the brands we carry that tested higher in cadmium and lead than the baselines established by Consumer Reports. The overwhelming response from vendors was that they test for heavy metals regularly, at multiple stages during production, including in the final bar form, and those tests all fall below the recommended levels for heavy metal content. It is important to note that there is no universal alignment on what “recommended levels” are actually safe, so vendors may be assessing using different standards, such as Proposition 65 or the European Union limits. Most vendors also noted they have and continue to make changes to minimize contamination, through sourcing or processing methods. 

Consumer Reports makes several recommendations on how to reduce potential exposure to heavy metals when eating chocolate and we encourage you to check out the report to learn more. To highlight a few, they suggest consuming chocolate in moderation and choosing milk or dark chocolate with less cocoa content (under 70%). Don’t give kids too much dark chocolate and try to minimize your consumption if pregnant. Lastly, eat a well-rounded diet as this cannot only help reduce exposure to heavy metals in chocolate, but all potential sources of heavy metals in food.

We will continue to assess the identified brands and products to determine the next best steps. We appreciate you taking the time to reach out.

PCC replies: Thank you for reading our Sound Consumer article about cast iron cooking and Jackie Freeman’s cookbook! Your meal idea sounds delightful.

PCC replies: We couldn’t agree more—those illustrations made us smile, and we feel lucky that Wendy, who is also the author-illustrator of several children’s books, is a regular contributor. (See here.) Thank you for reading the Sound Consumer and supporting PCC.

PCC replies: Thank you for writing us on the topic of Nestle’s ownership of brands such as Nuun and Garden of Life. We share your concern about the many environmental and humanitarian issues throughout our food and consumer goods supply chain and do our best to address as many as we can.

Many of the brands we carry are owned by larger companies whose practices have been called into question. There are so many of these products these days that, if we stopped carrying all of them, our shelves would be pretty empty. While we continually monitor these kinds of issues, advocate for improvements, and evaluate our products with these issues in mind, on many of these products we have chosen to let consumers make their own decisions about these brands and vote with your dollars.

Additionally, many brands operate independently from their parent companies, so at PCC we typically evaluate the sustainability of a brand based upon their own practices and alignment with our product standards. Garden of Life, for example, is a mission-driven brand that has obtained numerous sustainability certifications, including USDA organic, Non-GMO Project verified, and the Marine Stewardship Council certification for sustainable seafood. The company has also committed to reducing its climate impact, achieving carbon neutrality in 2021. Business practices such as these, which benefit people and the planet, are ones that PCC wants to continue supporting. 

We will be sure to share your concerns and recommendations with our Quality Standards Committee, as we always welcome input on issues like these. Again, thank you for taking the time to share your concerns.

PCC replies: Thank you for writing and sharing your perspective. We appreciate hearing different viewpoints from our community.

PCC replies: We’re so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! If you are ever looking for specific topics, resources or recipes, please let us know. We love knowing what our customers are enjoying and what they are interested in trying next.