In 2006, major candy makers including subsidiaries of Mars and Hersheys for the first time agreed to strict standards for protecting children from lead exposures in candies imported from Mexico. Government officials and health advocates had long known of the lead-poisoning risks to children from some imported candies, but the settlement reached from a lawsuit brought in 2004 by the Environmental Health Coalition (EHC), the Center for Environmental Health (CEH), the California Attorney General, the Los Angeles City Attorney and the Alameda County District Attorney became the first binding agreement that forces the industry to test their products to insure that candy does not pose a health risk to children.

The lawsuits on lead in candy were filed against over thirty candy makers under California's Proposition 65 law, which requires warnings on products that can expose the public to cancer-causing substances or reproductive toxins. Among the companies that signed the settlement are some of the world's largest candy makers and the three leading sellers of popular spicy candies from Mexico. The three are Effem Mexico, a subsidiary of the U.S.-based Mars candy company; Grupo Lorena, owned by U.S.-based Hersheys; and the Mexican-based Dulces Vero company.

Protect your children from lead-tainted candy

Here are several things that parents can do to protect their children from lead-contaminated candy:

• Familiarize yourself with the candies that have often tested high for lead. View the Orange Country Register's photos of toxic treats.

• The following candies once regularly tested high for lead:

  Bolirindo by Dulmex	Super Rebanaditas
  Rollito de Tamarindo by Dulmex	Tama Roca
  Chaca Chaca	Paleton con Chile
  Lucas Limon	Vero Rebanaditas
  Tablarindo	Pelon Pelo Rico
  Serpentinas	Vero Man

• Download CEH's fact sheet on lead poisoning
  

• The CA Department of Health Services' Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program: http://www.dhs.ca.gov/childlead/.

• The Center for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/lead.htm.

• The Environmental Health Coalition's Lead Poisoning Prevention Program: http://www.environmentalhealth.org/lead_poisoning.html.

• Download informative posters to put up at home, work, or in the classroom (requires Adobe Acrobat):
  

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