During the summer of 2025, as she was about to go grocery shopping at a supermarket in Bois-Colombes, a suburb northwest of Paris, Françoise read a news story about the presence of cadmium in organic chocolate, whose cocoa comes from South America, where the soil is contaminated. "It was a real blow," she recalled a few months later, still stunned by the presence of this heavy metal in a product she thought was safe: "I'm a naturally anxious person, but this time, it really hit me hard."
Now 60, the former head of human resources turned corporate coach (who, like the others mentioned in this article, asked to be identified by first name only) said she still felt "on alert" about such issues. "Up until now, I told myself I was limiting my risks by choosing products with the Agriculture Biologique [organic farming] label, to avoid pesticides. But knowing now that cadmium can be found in any everyday food, like bread or pasta, that terrifies me."
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