Haunted houses and spooky costumes are usually the scariest aspects of Halloween, but chocolate fans might want to take a second look at what’s handed out for trick or treat this year according to a new report.

Consumer Reports found “concerning levels” of heavy metals in one-third of the chocolates it tested, the magazine reported Wednesday.

What You Need To Know

  • Consumer Reports found concerning levels of lead and cadmium in many chocolcate products

  • 16 of the 48 chocolate products it tested had excessive amounts of heavy metals

  • Dark chocolate products tended to have the most heavy metals; milk chocolates had the least

  • Consumer Reports tested chocolate products from Hershey's, Nestle, Ghirardelli, Costco, Trader Joe's, Target, Wal-Mart, Whole Foods, Droste and Navitas

Its tests found Hershey’s milk chocolate had the highest levels of lead of the 48 chocolates it tested, though it did not exceed maximum allowable dose levels.

“Toxic levels of heavy metals like lead and cadmium shouldn’t be found in our favorite chocolate products,” Consumer Reports Food Policy Director Brian Ronholm said in a statement.

Consumer Reports singled out Hershey’s, which also had concerning levels of lead in its cocoa powder.

“Our tests have found that other brands have succeeded in producing chocolate products with lower levels of heavy metals that are safer for consumers,” Ronholm said. “As a leading and popular brand, it’s time for Hershey’s to make a firm, time-bound commitment to get dangerous levels of heavy metals out of its chocolate products.”

In May, Consumer Reports sent more than 75,000 consumer petition signatures to the company, following results last December that found several Hershey’s dark chocolate bars had some of the highest levels of cadmium and lead of all the brands it had tested.

When reached for comment, Hershey’s referred Spectrum News to the National Confectioners Association. In March, the company’s chief financial officer told Reuters it is looking “for opportunities” to reduce heavy metals in its dark chocolate.

Chocolate and cocoa are safe to eat and can be enjoyed as treats as they have been for centuries. Food safety and product quality remain our highest priorities and we remain dedicated to being transparent and socially responsible," Christopher Gindlesperger, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications at the NCA, said in a statement to Spectrum News.

Consumer Reports followed up last year’s Hershey’s test results with a larger sampling of 48 different products from multiple manufacturers this year. The brands included Hershey’s, Nestle, Ghirardelli, Costco, Trader Joe’s, Target, Wal-Mart, Whole Foods, Droste and Navitas. Products were separated into seven categories: cocoa powder, chocolate chips, milk chocolate bars, dark chocolate bars and mixes for brownies, chocolate cake and hot chocolate.

Because there are no federal limits for lead and cadmium levels in food, Consumer Reports tested each product using a metric applied in the state of California for maximum allowable dose levels of lead (.5 micrograms daily) and cadmium (4.1 micrograms daily).

Both heavy metals are concentrated in cacao, the main ingredient in chocolate. While dark chocolates and cocoa powders contain the most cacao, and milk chocolates contain the least, Consumer Reports said it found detectable levels of cadmium and lead in all of the 48 products it tested.

Sixteen of the products had amounts that exceeded Consumer Reports’ “levels of concern” for at least one of the metals, including Hershey’s Cocoa Naturally Unsweetened 100% Cacao and Droste Cacao Powder, both of which contained high levels of lead.

None of the five milk chocolate bars tested exceeded the heavy metal limits, though Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar contained the most lead. Dark chocolate bars sold as Hershey’s products or owned by the company and sold under different brands, had some of the highest levels of both lead and cadmium in the Consumer Reports test.