Who doesn't love chocolate? It evokes obsession, passion and love.
As Valentine's Day nears, many will stroll through the grocery or retail stores or even stop by a specialty shoppe and pick up some sweet chocolate treats for their sweetie.
CBS 11 did the same, but for different reasons.
A few weeks ago, we grabbed a shopping cart and bought chocolates made all over the world. We went to the grocery store, to the Godiva Chocolate store at the mall, and to a department store.
No one knew we were buying them to test.
We took the sealed boxes immediately to a local lab and paid them to analyze the chocolate. We were looking foreign objects that one would not expect to find in chocolate.
We showed people a picture of what's inside that deep, rich, sweet filling and they might say: "Gross!" which was just one of the reactions from people when we showed them what we found.
Many asked how can something that tastes so good could generate such "disgusting" results. A microbiologist strained the chocolate, heated it up and then let it dry.
Under a microscope, everything in the sweet morsels came into focus.
"We don't live in a sterile environment, and the good Lord gave us a stomach that will take care of any of these little bitty things," quipped Karen Deiss, senior microbiologist with Armstorng Forensic Labs.
The lab found a cat hair in the $44 box of Godiva chocolates. The findings also revealed small insect parts and clothing fibers.
Godiva told us these are "common items that could have easily entered the product after it left our control."
Russell Stovers and Whitmans share the same owner -- and the same problems -- insect parts and human hair in both boxes of chocolates.
The president of the company personally wrote a letter thanking us for bringing the matter to his attention.
It says the company takes precautions when making chocolate and guarantees its quality and freshness.
They also sent us envelopes and requested we mail the products back so the company could verify the results.
Clothing fibers and a part of an insect were found in the pieces tested from box of Choxie chocolates purchased at Target.
In a letter Target said: "We partner closely with our vendors to ensure all of our products are safe."
In a box of Joseph Schmidt Confections, insect parts, a human hair and pieces of metallic glitter were found in the samples.
A representative of Hershey's Chocolate, speaking on behalf Joseph Schmidt, said: "I can assure you that all of our products meet stringent quality guidelines."
According to the lab, the hair and insect parts were ground up so fine, it was hard to see.
The Food & Drug Administration's limit for insect fragments is less than 90 per sample. Rodent hair is limited to less than three per sample.
No rodent hair was found in any of the samples, but it's the 'gross out' factor that bothers some people.
Many viewers want to know "how do these things end up in chocolate?"
As one manufacturer points out, "It's really impossible to exclude hair, bugs and fibers from chocolate or any other natural food product."
"I don't think I'll be ordering my chocolate latte now," another viewer quickly added.
:grumbling thats horible. Whats in your chocolate?
i thought it was nuts and raisins but it could have been a blue bottle :eek:! But im sure ill forget about that next time im at the corner shop, hmmmmm galaxy.
In the name of (Allah) God, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
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:grumbling
oh:
We'd actually all be surprised if they analyzed all of our foods. That's why we have immune systems.
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