Free Republic

PART THREE: THE CANDY MAKERS Use of lead-tainted ingredients in some candies made in Mexico raises ethical questions. By JENIFER B. McKIM and WILLIAM HEISEL/ The Orange County Register Photos by ANA VENEGAS/ The Orange County Register HANDS ON: A worker rolls Serpentinas candy at Dulces Moreliates in Morelia, Mexico. The Register found high levels of lead in the version meant for Mexico but sold in Orange County. Photos: ANA VENEGAS/ SUMMARY Situation: Some candy makers produce two versions of their products – a clean, costlier version for the U.S. market and cheaper, sometimes contaminated versions for the Mexican market....

<p>Chilies start out safe. But by the time chili powder reaches the Mexican market, it can be tainted with lead.</p> <p>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.</p>

The poison arrives in an ice cream truck, "Happy Birthday to You" crackling from a single speaker wired to the roof. On this street in Anaheim, the neighborhood kids drop their bikes and balls and make a beeline for their mothers to beg for money.

Mexican candy - a seemingly harmless indulgence - can contain a poison that is especially dangerous to children. Story by JENIFER B. McKIM, KEITH SHARON and WILLIAM HEISEL Photos by ANA VENEGAS The Orange County Register SWEET INNOCENCE: For birthday girl Elva Alexandra Cardona, 2, right, the Pelon Pelo Rico she enjoys with cousin Giselle Yanez, left, is just a sugary treat. But the candy, which has tested high for lead 11 times, and others like it have increasingly been linked to poisoning of California children. SUMMARY Situation: The state finds lead in candy one out of four times it...

Mexico's Minister of Health issued a statement this week, stating that the "dangerous amounts of lead" reportedly found in the Mexican imported candy bar, the "Chaca-Chaca, or Rielito," was an isolated incident, Health Department director Hector Gonzalez said Wednesday. Mexican candy circulating on this side of the border raised red flags of alarm this week, after city of Laredo health officials issued an advisory to stop the consumer consumption of the Mexican-imported salt and chili-based fruit pulp candy bar. A Health Department press release sent Monday stated that "recent analysis of Chaca Chaca by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...