You've seen the stories about lead being found in Mexican candies. But new information reveals parents shouldn't just worry about lead in Mexican candy, they also need to worry about the wrappers they come in.
News 4 Trouble Shooter Mireya Villarreal is uncovering new details about who is, or isn't, monitoring these candy concerns.
Mexican candies are sold in hundreds of convenience stores across San Antonio, stores that your kids frequent when buying candy. And while you may be watching your kids and what they eat, we wanted to know who is watching the stores.
The News 4 Trouble Shooters bought several different types of candies and tested them with an at-home lead testing kit. We followed the instructions and swabbed the candy and some wrappers. At least three swabs turned pink or red, indicating lead could be in the candy and wrappers.
The Food and Drug Administration allows only a microscopic amount of lead in candy. The makers of Rollito de Tamarindo candy and wrapper didn't meet the regulation. And the the Tama Roca candy tested five times over the limit, while its wrapper blasted the legal limit by 37 times.
The News 4 Trouble Shooters approached a number of convenience store clerks. Most wouldn't go on camera; however, off camera they told us the local health department does come by to inspect their kitchens, bathrooms and food; but they never look at their mexican candy.
Dr. Miguel Fernandez, South Texas Poison Center Director, says, "Well, beyond the fact that there is lead in these products and that are marketed towards children, there is a bigger concern. It is that children may take in a dangerous amount of lead that may harm them."
Dr. Fernandez says eating candy with lead in it could even be deadly.
"It can even kill you," he says. "Children may develop brain swelling, seizures. They may develop brain retardation. So they may not be as smart as they would have been otherwise, because of consuming too much lead at an early age."
Parents we spoke with had no idea some of this candy could be bad for their kids. They wanted to know, if the candy is so bad, why is it still on the shelves?
A spokesperson for the the Department of State Health Services says, until the FDA recalls a product, it can't force a store to take it off their shelves. But it also tell us, Texas is a "home rule" state. That means local city and county governments can take the Mexican candies off the shelves if it feel it's in the best interest of citizens' health, safety and welfare.
News 4 Trouble Shooter Mireya Villarreal asks Stephen Barscewski, Metro Health Sanitarian Services Manager, "Why not just take it off the shelves?"
"Well, one problem is, you can test one lot and it may be positive. then you can test another lot and it may not be positive. there's a lot of factors involved," says Stephen Barscewski.
Barscewski says it would be unrealistic for the local health department to take all the bad candies off the shelf. He tells us, the health department inspects and enforces candy recalls as often as it can. He suggests parents discourage their kids from eating candy altogether.
Parents News 4 spoke with say, that's not good enough and they expect the health department to do more.
The News 4 Trouble Shooters did try to contact the FDA about these Mexican candies. We wanted to know, if the candies and the wrappers had high test results for lead, why haven't they been recalled? A spokesperson for the FDA says this is a sensitive matter and will get back to us as soon as possible.
