Lindt class action over heavy metals in dark chocolate dismissed

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Update: 

• A class action lawsuit alleging Lindt didn’t tell customers several of its dark chocolate products contain unsafe levels of lead and cadmium has been dismissed.
• Plaintiff Kamila Harkavy filed the motion for voluntary dismissal without prejudice Feb. 27 in a California federal court. 
• Harkavy originally filed the class action lawsuit against Lindt & Sprüngli (North America) Inc. on Jan. 10 in a California federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws. 
• The lawsuit alleged the company made Lindt Excellence Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa bars and Lindt Excellence Dark Chocolate 85% Cocoa bars that contained dangerously high levels of heavy metals.

Lindt dark chocolate class action overview: 

• Who: A Lindt dark chocolate consumer sued the chocolatier.
• Why: The plaintiff alleges Lindt concealed that several of its dark chocolate products contain unsafe levels of lead and cadmium.
• Where: The Lindt class action was filed in a California federal court. 

(Jan. 12, 2023)

Lindt didn’t tell customers that several of its dark chocolate products contain unsafe levels of lead and cadmium, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiff Kamila Harkavy filed the class action lawsuit against Lindt & Sprüngli (North America) Inc. on Jan. 10 in a California federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws. 

According to the lawsuit, the company makes Lindt Excellence Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa bars and Lindt Excellence Dark Chocolate 85% Cocoa bars, both of which contain dangerously high levels of heavy metals.

According to a December 2022 report by Consumer Reports, certain dark chocolate bars, including the Lindt products named in the lawsuit, have high enough levels of lead and cadmium that eating just an ounce a day would put an adult at a consumption level that public health authorities would deem “harmful.” 

Lindt’s Excellence Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa bar contains cadmium levels at 116% of California’s maximum allowable dose level, the Lindt class action states. 

Meanwhile, its Excellence Dark Chocolate 85% Cocoa bar contains lead levels at 166% of the maximum allowable dose level, according to the lawsuit.

Heavy metals can cause serious health implications, Lindt class action alleges

Heavy metals in foods pose a significant safety risk to consumers because they can cause cancer and often irreversible damage to brain development as well as other serious health problems, the Lindt class action states.

Lindt’s omissions on the chocolate labeling harmed consumers, the lawsuit alleges. 

“No reasonable consumer would know, or have reason to know, that the Products contain (or risk containing) Heavy Metals,” the Lindt dark chocolate class action says. “Worse, as companies across the industry have adopted methods to limit heavy metals in their dark chocolates, Defendant has stood idly by with a reckless disregard for its consumers’ health and well-being.”

Harkavy seeks to represent anyone in the United States who bought the dark chocolate products, plus a California subclass.

She sued for breach of California consumer laws and unjust enrichment and seeks certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial. 

In December, a consumer hit The Hershey Co. with a class action lawsuit alleging it misleadingly markets some of its Hershey’s and Lily’s brand dark chocolate products by not disclosing that they contain lead and cadmium. Other consumers are sued Trader Joe’s and Mars over similar claims. 

Did you buy either of the named dark chocolate bars? Let us know your thoughts on this class action in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Max S. Roberts, L. Timothy Fisher and Sean L. Litteral of Bursor & Fisher PA and Kevin Laukaitis of Laukaitis Law Firm LLC.

The Lindt class action lawsuit is Kamila Harkavy, et al. v. Lindt & Sprüngli (North America) Inc., Case No. 3:23-cv-00121, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. 

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