Posted on 04/27/2004 2:12:34 PM PDT by Kay Soze
Edited on 04/27/2004 2:29:01 PM PDT by Sidebar Moderator. [history]
Chilies start out safe. But by the time chili powder reaches the Mexican market, it can be tainted with lead.
Story by VALERIA GODINES and JENIFER B. McKIM/ The Orange County Register Photos by DAVID FITZGERALD/ Special to the Register
HARVEST: Fields like this one outside Ojo Caliente, Zacatecas, Mexico, produce chilies that are used throughout the country. The fields are the first stop in a trail that ultimately leads to contaminated candy. . DAVID FITZGERALD, SPECIAL TO THE REGISTER
SUMMARY Situation: Chili gives many Mexican candies a spicy kick, but it can be laced with lead by the time it is sold to candy makers.
Findings: More than 90 percent of ground-chili samples bought in Mexico contained lead, according to laboratory tests conducted for The Orange County Register. Dirt, which contains lead, clings to many chilies. If they're not washed before being milled, the lead is ground up, sometimes along with other contaminants. A Register analysis found chili is a main ingredient in 79 percent of Mexican candies that have tested high for lead.
Response: Mexican and U.S. officials expressed surprise at the findings and said the problem would be investigated.
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
-ccm
From the article, the dirt on the unwashed chilies is contaminated with lead. Perhaps that could be reduced if they stopped using leaded gasoline or if they controlled the lead output of other sources, but it seems that the most effective change would be simply to wash the chilies.
More than 90 percent of ground-chili samples bought in Mexico contained lead, according to laboratory tests conducted for The Orange County Register. Dirt, which contains lead, clings to many chilies. If they're not washed before being milled, the lead is ground up, sometimes along with other contaminants.
Why would anyone put chili powder in candy?
Maybe the same reason people use cinnamon flavoring to make Atomic Fireballs candy?
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