Our Chocolate: Quality, Safety & Responsible Sourcing
At Boehm’s Candies, the quality and safety of the ingredients we use have always been extremely important to us. As a manufacturer of confections, we purchase bulk chocolate from several established chocolate manufacturers and use it to create our own custom blend of chocolate.
Heavy Metals in Chocolate
We understand that customers may have questions about lead, cadmium, and other heavy metals in chocolate.
Lead and cadmium are naturally occurring elements found in the earth’s soil and water. As a result, trace amounts can be present in many foods grown in the soil, including grains, fruits, vegetables, and cocoa beans. Because cocoa beans are a primary ingredient in chocolate, trace amounts of these naturally occurring elements may also be present in chocolate products.
The chocolate manufacturers we purchase from maintain food-safety, quality-control, and heavy-metal monitoring programs. Our suppliers have advised us that their chocolate products comply with applicable food-safety requirements and that lead and cadmium are monitored as part of their ongoing quality-control programs to ensure levels remain within established regulatory limits.
We will continue to work closely with our suppliers and rely on their established food-safety and monitoring programs to ensure the chocolate we purchase meets applicable standards.
Responsible Cocoa Sourcing
Beyond quality and food safety, we are proud to source from chocolate manufacturers that are working to produce exceptional cocoa products while supporting more environmentally sustainable cocoa production, strengthening farming practices, and improving conditions within cocoa-growing communities.
Protecting the well-being of children and families and supporting fair and sustainable livelihoods for cocoa farmers are important priorities within the cocoa industry. Among their other internal commitments and programs, our chocolate suppliers participate in organizations working toward these goals.
Our suppliers are members of the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), an organization focused on child protection in cocoa-growing communities and safeguarding children’s rights.
They are also members of the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), an organization working toward a sustainable and thriving cocoa sector in which farmers prosper, cocoa-growing communities are empowered, human rights are respected, and the environment is conserved.
For additional information about these organizations and their work, please visit:
International Cocoa Initiative: cocoainitiative.org
World Cocoa Foundation: worldcocoafoundation.org