Health group warns about lead in candy

By Diane Lindquist
STAFF WRITER

October 30, 2004

People handing out Halloween treats in San Diego and Tijuana this weekend should avoid giving Mexican candies that lab tests have indicated are contaminated with potentially dangerous levels of lead, a San Diego environmental group says.
The warning from the Environmental Health Coalition is part of a statewide campaign to get lead-contaminated candies, mostly from Mexico, off the shelves.
"We're not against the candy manufacturers. We want to be able to continue to enjoy them . . . but without the lead," said Leticia Ayala, the coalition's campaign director.
The organization says more than 112 brands of candy sold in California, most of which are made in Mexico and sold to Latino children, have tested positive for dangerous levels of lead over the last decade.
Chronic low-level exposure to lead can cause developmental problems in children, including impaired growth, reduced IQ and learning disabilities, and behavioral and hyperactivity problems.
The Environmental Health Coalition and a statewide nonprofit group, the Center for Environmental Health, are urging that shoppers specifically avoid 12 candies.
One, called Chaca Chaca, made from apple pulp and chili powder and wrapped in red and white cellophane, was confiscated last March by San Diego County Environmental Health specialists after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the product from entering the United States. Some of the candy has since been found in some small Latino markets and in Tijuana, Ayala said.
Other candies the Environmental Health Coalition warns against are: Lucas Limon, Tablarindo, Serpentinas, Pelon Pelo Rico, Bolirindo and Super Rebanaditas.
Also included are Tama Roca, Paleton con Chile, Vero Rebanaditas, Vero Mango and Rollito de Tamarindo.
A subsidiary of Mars Inc. announced a voluntary withdrawal of Lucas Limon and three other Lucas candies from U.S. markets but, like Chaca Chaca, they still can be found in some San Diego County markets and in Tijuana, Ayala said.
"We're hoping to spread the word so we're protecting people on both sides of the border," she said.
The source of the lead often is the wrappings, rather than the candy itself, Ayala said. Ink containing lead is absorbed into the candy.
Many Mexican manufacturers have denied that their products contain unhealthy amounts of lead.
A measure in the California Legislature that would have required that sweets with more than 0.2 parts per million of lead be removed from stores was killed late this summer in the Democratic Assembly Caucus.

Diane Lindquist: (619) 293-1812; diane.lindquist@uniontrib.com