I was currently informed by the Department of Health to beware of eating candy from Mexico because it could contain lead. This really caught my attention because my children love when we walk around the flea market (or swap meet as it is called in other states) and buy them the super cheap Mexican candy. You can’t go wrong when you buy candy for all the kids for less than $1.00, but I guess you get what you pay for.
So whats the big deal? What harm can lead really cause? When lead is ingested it can damage your central nervous system and kidneys. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that nearly 500,000 children in the United States have lead levels in their blood that are high enough to cause irreversible damage to their health. A child with high levels of lead in their blood will not show any symptoms, but the lead can cause irreversible damage to their brain or other major organs.
Some of the candy included in the warning are Tama Roca candy, Vero Mango, Vero Rebanaditas and Lucas Limon. These are very common candies and I see them all over the place! The candy was recalled as it has been found to have lead, however there is no information that changes have been made. Lead testing has only begun in the past ten years, so as we all grew up eating these candies, there is no information as to the levels we may have ingested.
