Thread: State of WI looking at testing Mexican candy for lead

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State looking at testing Mexican candy for lead
By Michael Burke

The state of Wisconsin has begun looking for a practical way to test Mexican candy for lead, although it remains to be seen what enforcement actions, if any, might follow.

Last month, the state of California announced that the three largest Mexican candy manufacturers had agreed to a plan to get lead out of their candies that had been causing lead poisoning among children. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer announced the settlement.

Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection spokeswoman Donna Gilson said that concerns arose in this state in July 2004. The City of Milwaukee Health Department pulled some Mexican candy off shelves there after half the candy samples tested locally were above the government's advisory limit of 0.5 parts per million, and as high as 0.85 parts per million.

Milwaukee officials were looking at the Lucas Limon candy in particular at the time, Gilson said. Lucas is one of the candies involved in the California settlement.

"We were going to start a testing program," Gilson said but added, "It's hard to analyze Mexican candy because of the high salt content." It can overwhelm the process of ascertaining lead levels.

"Certainly high lead levels in any form of ingestion, whether paint chips or food, is cause for concern," she said.

Now the agency is just started trying to develop a reliable testing method, Gilson said, "and then can decide if will do a sampling program."

She said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration standard is advisory only. Consequently, "the issue is how much you can have the authority to do and how much you can practically do."

Under the agreement coming out of California's crackdown, the candy makers - including subsidiaries of Mars and Hershey - agreed to annual audits of their companies and chili suppliers, lead testing, and a one-time cash payment of nearly $1 million to reduce lead industrywide and pay legal fees.

The settlement came two years after an investigation by

The Orange County Register in California found that state and federal regulators knew the candies could cause lead poisoning in children but did nothing to solve the problem.

The series revealed that unwashed chilis were a major source of lead and that candy makers sold unclean, more dangerous products in Mexico that often made their way to Southern California store shelves.

The problem has been found other places that Mexican candy has been sold. For example, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas tested Mexican candies bought near the campus and found that 25 of about 100 different brands consistently tested positive for lead, either in the candy, the wrappers or the containers.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration halted the sale of Chaca Chaca, a popular chili-coated Mexican fruit bar, in 2004.

Arizona officials banned the sale of two Mexican candies that have high levels of lead in a move to regulate potentially toxic imported treats.

The Arizona Republic reported that keeping the banned candies off the shelves is not easy because savvy manufacturers often rename and repackage the treats for easier importation.

In addition, it reported that some of the products may be sold in packaging or wrappers that contain enough lead that can seep into the candy which also poses a health hazard if the child licks the wrapper or their fingers after handling the wrapper.

"Untold hundreds of thousands of children will now be safe and have a better life," said Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, one of the plaintiffs in the suit. "Lead is poison. This settlement will have impact well beyond California." The Attorney General's Office led a coalition of government agencies and nonprofit groups months later to sue candy makers under provisions of Proposition 65, the state's anti-toxics law. The law, approved by ballot initiative in 1986, requires warning labels on anything that could cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. The Alameda County district attorney, the Oakland-based Center for Environmental Health and the San Diego-based Environmental Health Coalition also were involved in the suit. "This is a tremendous victory for children, parents and everyone who cares about protecting our health," said Luz Palomino, a community organizer with the San Diego-based health coalition, who worked with mothers calling for government action for more than five years. The companies involved in the settlement include Lucas-brand candy maker Effem de Mexico, a subsidiary of Mars Inc.; Grupo Lorena, now part of Hershey Co.; and four Mexican-based companies under the umbrella company Vero. The state sued 33 companies but ended up talking with the three largest manufacturers. Other candy makers must join the settlement or face litigation. These companies make other popular candies such as Serpentinas and Bolorindo.

Several western states, including Arizona, California, New Mexico and Nevada have launched bilingual campaigns to educate immigrant families about the threat of consuming the toxic sweets.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

forget testing the candy, just ban it.