Consumer group As You Sow alleges that some chocolates made by the world's leading chocolate firms might have doses of toxic heavy metals.

Based in Oakland, California, As You Sow recently filed notices of legal action in California against Hershey's, Mars and See's Candies, the chocolate industry's largest companies.

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The notices allege the companies violated California's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act for failure to warn consumers of cadmium in their chocolate products.

Chronic exposure to cadmium has been linked to liver, kidney and bone damage in humans. Children are more susceptible to exposure effects from low doses of cadmium over time. Animal studies have linked cadmium exposure to decreased birth weight and male reproductive harm, among others.

Under California's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, manufacturers are required to warn consumers if their products contain chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm.

Testing commissioned by As You Sow and conducted at an independent laboratory indicated that the chocolate products named in the legal notices contain lead, cadmium, or both, and fail to provide the required warning to consumers.

The independent lab conducted three rounds of tests and discovered that 26 of 42 chocolate varieties evaluated contained levels of lead or cadmium high enough to be considered unsafe by California standards.

Serving-size samples contained lead levels as high as 5.9 percent above the safe limit and cadmium levels as much as 8.2 times above the limit.

As You Sow previously took legal action against 13 other chocolate manufacturers for failure to warn of lead and/or cadmium in their chocolate products. These manufacturers are Lindt, Kroger, Godiva, Trader Joe's, Ghirardelli, Green and Black's, Whole Foods, Earth Circle Organics, Moonstruck, Theo and Vosges,

Lead exposure is associated with neurological impairment such as learning disabilities and lower IQs, even at low levels. Lead is a neurotoxin posing extreme risk to children's brain development. In the U.S., lead exposure remains a significant public health issue.

"Nobody expects heavy metals in their chocolate," said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow.

"By issuing these notices, we hope to convince chocolate manufacturers to either remove or reduce heavy metals in their products through sound supply chain practices, or provide warnings so consumers can make their own choices about whether to consume the products."