California Department Of Public Health Warns Consumers Not To Eat Hawthorn Candy

Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 10 Oct 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), has warned consumers not to eat Hawthorn Candy, which is imported from China, after tests by CDPH found elevated levels of lead. Consumers in possession of Hawthorn Candy should discard it immediately.

(See photo of candy.)

Hawthorn Candy is distributed by Next Generation Products Inc, in Rosemead, California. CDPH is currently working with the distributor to ensure that the contaminated candies are removed from the marketplace.

Hawthorn Candy comes in a 250 gram package with 70-80 small individually wrapped candies. The individual candies are wrapped in a pink wrapper with green Chinese characters and a picture of the Hawthorn fruit. The front of the outer package includes large green and pink rectangles, black Chinese characters and has a red oval with white Chinese characters.

Recent analysis of this candy by CDPH determined that Hawthorn Candy contained as much as 0.20 parts per million (ppm) of lead. California considers candies with lead levels in excess of 0.10 ppm to be contaminated.

Pregnant women and parents of children who may have consumed this candy should consult their physician or health care provider to determine if medical testing is needed.

Consumers who find Hawthorn Candy for sale are encouraged to call the CDPH Complaint Hotline at 1-800-495-3232.

For more information about lead poisoning, consumers are advised to contact their local childhood lead poisoning prevention program or public health department. Additional information and a list of local childhood lead prevention programs is available here.

California Department of Public Health