Abstract

JIMENEZ TOBON, Claudia Stella. Global legal status of cadmium in cacao (Theobroma cacao): a fantasy or a reality. Rev. P+L [online]. 2015, vol.10, n.1, pp.89-104. ISSN 1909-0455.

Colombian cacao is well positioned in the international markets, given its taste and aroma. There is, however, a concern under contamination terms at a national level, because there is cadmium in the seeds. This metal, in case of being accumulated in the human body, is the cause of several and serious diseases that slowly deteriorate it. Even though the fact that in 2019 the European Community will start to demand a maximum level of the cadmium allowed in the cacao and its derivatives, there is no sufficient knowledge, at an international level, of the actual legal state of this contaminant in cacao because, despite the fact that it is well known that Europe is an important market, there are other important ones for Colombia and its cacao. This article reviews the current legal state of cadmium as a pollutant in cacao and its derivatives in some countries and also the per capita consumption of cocoa in some of them,in order to reflect on the necessity of legislate -or not- about a contaminant in alimentary matrixes, depending on its importance in the diet of a certain population.

Keywords : Cadmium; cacao; food legislation; heavy metals; contaminants.

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