PHOENIX
(By Daniel Gonzαlez, Arizona Republic) December 16, 2004 - Some Mexican candy that has tested
positive for lead in California is readily available on Arizona shelves, but
state officials here say they have no plans to conduct tests or try banning
the imported sweets.
The candies, mostly made with chili powder and tamarind in various forms and
brands, are especially popular with Latino children. Some California
officials want to ban the candies in question because lead is especially
harmful to children and can lead to learning disabilities and behavioral
problems.
Arizona health officials say the federal government should step in and force
Mexican candy makers to remove the lead. The controversy has left some shop
owners here concerned and confused, while others are adamant the candy is
safe.
"I've heard about it, but I think it's just rumors and lies," said Jesus
Gonzalez, who at his 16th Street store, Dulceria Pico Rico, sells several
brands of Mexican candy found in California to contain elevated lead levels.
"In Mexico, lots of kids eat this candy and no one gets sick. I think it's a
plot by the American companies to stop the growth of Mexican candy."
Some Mexican candy makers believe if their candy does indeed have lead, as
California tests have shown, the levels are low and safe for consumption.
They also say the publicity is damaging an entire industry that relies on
exports to the United States for sales.
Lead-based paint
In 2004, Latinos made up 74 percent of the 261 child lead-poisoning cases in Arizona, said Christine Cervantez Young, an epidemiology specialist for the Arizona Department of Health Services.Lead is especially harmful to children. It can hinder brain and nervous-system development and can cause behavior problems and learning disabilities, she said.
But Young said the primary source of lead poisoning is not candy, but lead-based paint found in older housing. Children are poisoned when they eat the paint chips or inhale lead dust. Other sources are folk remedies that contain lead and cooking with pottery with lead-based glazes, she said.
"At this time, we haven't found Mexican candy to be the primary source of lead poisoning," Young said.
Public health officials have set up booths at health fairs and held clinics as part of an effort to educate parents about lead poisoning from all sources, including candy.
Leticia Ayala, a program director for the Environmental Health Coalition, a non-profit organization in San Diego, said lead poisoning from Mexican candy is a health problem that affects all border states.
"It's the same candy, the same recipe and the same companies," Ayala said.
Her organization is pushing for a law in California requiring all chili- and tamarind-flavored candy to be tested and, if found with lead, removed from shelves until candy makers prove it is lead-free. So far, the bill has failed. Public health officials in Los Angeles also are seeking to ban lead-tainted candy from Mexico.
"We are not against Mexican candies. We love Mexican candies. We just want to enjoy them but to get the lead out," Ayala said.
Arizona not testing
Trying to ban the treats in Arizona isn't the solution, said Will Humble, chief of epidemiology and disease control for the DHS.Most of the questionable candy is flavored with chili powder or chili paste that sometimes gets contaminated in the manufacturing process, he said.
"So it's the spicy candies that are the problem, but it's not all," Humble said. "There are some spicy candies with chili powder in them that are absolutely fine. That's what is really tough about this. You can't just say, 'Well, all the candy made in Mexico with chili powder in it is bad.' You can't make that kind of a statement because it's not true."
Although extensive testing has been done in California, Arizona public health officials have not tested candy from Mexico or tried keeping it off the shelves. Humble believes that's the federal government's responsibility.
In March, the DHS warned consumers to avoid eating Chaca Chaca, a chili-coated fruit bar from Mexico, after tests by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found higher lead levels than the government considers safe.
"Ultimately the solution is to get the Food and Drug Administration down there looking at the factories and figure out how is lead getting into that chili powder and then cleaning up the problem at the source. That has a chance of working," Humble said. "(State-by-state bans are) really a patchwork approach that is unlikely to really solve this thing."
Maritza Martinez, owner of Importaciones Valentinas, on 35th Avenue in Phoenix, sells candy imported from Mexico, including some of the brands in question.
"To be honest with you, I don't believe this," Martinez said, "My mother and father grew up with the lead pottery, and they never got sick. Now they say it's the candy."
Sam Dodson, southern Arizona district manager for Phoenix-based Kellogg Supply Inc., is worried his business could be hurt after the Pima County Health Department warned grocery stores before Thanksgiving that certain brands of Mexican candy have too much lead.
His company distributes six types of candy identified as possibly having high lead levels. Last week, he visited several Tucson grocery stores that carry the products.
"This could affect my business in a negative fashion," Dodson said. "So right now, I'm just trying to find out what this is all about."
In July, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer sued 33 Mexican candy manufactures, accusing them of breaking a state law that requires food companies to label products that contain toxicants that can cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive harm.
The suit was based on tests that found elevated lead levels, said Tom Dresslar, Lockyer's spokesman.
Federal authorities believe chili powder or tamarind used in some Mexican candies is becoming contaminated during the manufacturing process, possibly when raw ingredients are dried in areas with high levels of airborne lead, or stored in improperly glazed ceramic vessels that may leach lead into the product.
Grinding ingredients may also result in lead contamination. Some of the products are also sold in packaging or wrappers that contain lead, which can leach into the candy or pose a hazard if a child licks the wrapper or their fingers after touching the wrapper.
The suit was filed after the Orange County Register commissioned professional tests that found high lead levels in 32 percent of the Mexican candy brands tested.
The newspaper also reported that California regulators had found 112 brands of candy, most from Mexico, with elevated lead levels over the past decade but didn't inform the public.
However, the tests are frequently inconsistent, said Lea Brooks, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Health Services. Some batches had higher lead levels than others of the same brand of candy, she said.
Easy to find
The candy is easy to find. Found at each of four stores randomly checked last week in Phoenix were some of the same brands on the Environmental Health Coalition's list of the top 12 candies to avoid, including Lucas Limon, Super Lucas and Lucas Acidito, popular seasonings made with salt and chili powder. In August, the California Department of Health Services warned consumers that lead exceeding the federal standard in candy had been found in four seasonings from Mexico: Lucas Limon, Lucas Acidito, Super Lucas and Super Jovy Chili Powder."A lot of my friends put Lucas on pickles and watermelons. They like the taste," said Adilene Herrera, 16, while shopping at Dulceria Pico Rico.
Effem Mexico, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Mars Inc., voluntarily recalled Lucas Limon and other Lucas products after tests in California found elevated lead levels, said Michele Corash, a lawyer for the company.
But she said the company believes the tests were flawed and the seasonings are safe.
"The Lucas condiments, they are supposed to be off the market. But we can't make retailers do what we have instructed them to do," Corash said.
Not all candy unsafe
Candy makers say lead is found in most foods."We believe we are talking about levels of lead that are naturally occurring and not a health hazard," said Corash, the lawyer for Effem Mexico and two other Mexican candy makers, Grupo Lorena and Dulces Vera.
Although some Mexican candy may be contaminated unnaturally with lead, the entire industry is being tainted, she added.
What's more, some candy makers make two versions of the same sweet, one for sale in Mexico, the other for export to the United States.
Some candy not intended for export may be entering the U.S. market illegally, she said.
Meanwhile, some Arizona storeowners say they have no plans to stop selling the Mexican candy in question.
Gonzalez, the owner of Dulceria Pico Rico, said he assumes the candy he sells is safe because he buys it from a major distributor in California.
