Everything you need to know about the Lindt chocolate lawsuit

‘The finest ingredients’?

Lindt has admitted its chocolates aren’t ‘expertly crafted with the finest ingredients’ after one study found the luxury treats contained heavy metals. Here’s everything you need to know about the lawsuit against the Swiss chocolate giant.

Lindt chocolates have long been the go-to product many of us reach for when we want a sweet treat that feels a bit more luxurious.

But consumers around the world are questioning the quality of the Swiss chocolate giant’s products amid a lawsuit in the US.

Why was a class action filed against Lindt?

Consumer Reports tested 28 dark chocolate bars for lead and cadmium in 2023, and found that two of Lindt’s dark chocolate bars contained levels that were higher than what’s considered safe to regularly consume. 

Lindt Excellence Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa was found to be high in Cadium, while Lindt Excellence Dark Chocolate 85% Cocoa was found to be high in lead. 

The study found that other brands’ bars contained higher levels of the heavy metals, but Lindt’s higher pricepoint and marketing as high quality made consumers focus on the Swiss chocolatier’s research results.

People specifically highlighted the company’s branding of its chocolates as ‘expertly crafted with the finest ingredients’, pointing out that lead and cadmium don’t exactly fit this brief.

Customers from California, Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Nevada and New York who had purchased the costly chocolate bars started a class action lawsuit against Lindt, accusing it of misleading consumers about the quality of its products. 

Lindt Excellence Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa was found to be high in Cadium, while Lindt Excellence Dark Chocolate 85% Cocoa was found to be high in lead. Image: Getty

Health effects of lead and cadmium

You’re probably pretty familiar with the dangers of ingesting lead already. Even at low levels, exposure to the heavy metal can ‘affect physical and mental development in children’ and ‘in adults, it can cause high blood pressure and affect kidney and brain function’, as per NSW Health. High levels of exposure can cause seizures, coma and death.

Cadmium also isn’t really something you want to be ingesting in high quantities. It’s classified as a human carcinogen according to the World Health Organisation, and ‘exerts toxic effects on the kidneys as well as the skeletal and respiratory systems.’ 

Consumer Reports warned in a statement that regular intake of dark chocolate with high levels of heavy metals could result in serious health concerns. 

But the Swiss company claimed "lead and cadmium are unavoidable in the food supply”, and insisted the metals found within its products are within regulatory limits.

Even at low levels, exposure to the heavy metal can ‘affect physical and mental development in children’ and ‘in adults, it can cause high blood pressure and affect kidney and brain function’, as per NSW Health. While high levels of exposure can cause seizures, coma and death. Image: Getty

Lindt: expertly crafted?

In an attempt to have the case dismissed, Lindt addressed the public’s scrutiny of its marketing, dismissing its use of phrases like ‘expertly crafted’ and ‘finest ingredients’ as “puffery” – which are promotional statements or claims that shouldn’t be interpreted as factual. 

Not only was the motion to dismiss rejected, but the court believed the company had “exaggerated advertising, blustering and boasting upon which no reasonable buyer would rely.”

Brushing off the questionable statements as nothing more than marketing fueled the fire of critics, with some accusing the company of undermining its credibility.

Lindt still stands by the quality of its chocolates despite this, with a representative telling AFP, “Our consumers can have full confidence” in the company’s products, reaffirming that Lindt chocolates are “expertly crafted with the finest ingredients.”

Originally published as Everything you need to know about the Lindt chocolate lawsuit