Mars class action claims Dove’s dark chocolate contains unsafe levels of lead, cadmium

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Mars, Dove’s dark chocolate class action overview: 

• Who: A dark chocolate consumer is suing Mars.
• Why: The plaintiff says one of the company’s dark chocolate products, made under the Dove brand, contains high levels of heavy metals.
• Where: The Mars, Dove’s dark chocolate class action was filed in a New York federal court.

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

Plaintiff Arlene Millman filed the class action complaint against Mars Inc. on Jan. 5 in a New York federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws. 

According to the lawsuit, Mars makes the product Dove Promises Deeper Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao.

However, according to a December 2022 report by Consumer Reports, certain dark chocolate bars, including the Dove product named in the lawsuit, have high enough levels of lead and cadmium that “eating just an ounce a day would put an adult over a level that public health authorities and … experts say may be harmful.”

Consumers are not warned of this fact by the label on the product packaging, the lawsuit alleges.

Heavy metals can cause serious health implications, lawsuit 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 lawsuit states.

Consumers were harmed by Mars’ omissions on the chocolate labeling, the lawsuit alleges. 

“No reasonable consumer would know, or have reason to know, that the Products contain (or risk containing) Heavy Metals,” it 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.”

Millman seeks to represent anyone in the United States who bought the dark chocolate product, plus a New York subclass.

She is suing for breach of New York consumer laws and for unjust enrichment, and seeks certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial. 

In December, The Hershey Co. was hit 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. 

Another consumer is suing Trader Joe’s and its parent company, alleging the supermarket sells dark chocolate that contains high levels of heavy metals.

Did you buy the product Dove Promises Deeper Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao? 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 Mars class action lawsuit is Arlene Millman, et al. v. Mars Inc., Case No. 2:23-cv-00079, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

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