This week I have gotten a lot of e-mails from friends and others – moms, educators and concerned community members – about the safety of Halloween products regarding the industrial chemical melamine. Most of these e-mails have focused on chocolate gold coins. You may have gotten these e-mails yourself. In fact, the great Internet investigators over at Snopes have even spent some time looking into it.
Unfortunately, while the original senders probably had extremely noble intentions, confusion and questions have been generated instead.
I know that every American who plans to hand out candy this Halloween wants to be sure that he or she is buying products safe for kids. Parents, more than anyone, want to be sure the candy they give their children is not harmful. And people have asked me, “Is what I read online true?”. It’s clear that people are a little scared, with just cause, and we wanted to help allay some of the fears.
Please know that a safe and secure food supply is the industry’s number one goal and concern every day of the year.
The information about chocolate gold coins and melamine contamination that has been circulated widely on the Internet is partially true, but important safety facts are missing in some of the e-mails.
Here are the real facts:
It’s true that a single shipment of chocolate coins in Canada was recalled due to melamine prior to the global awareness that some milk products and ingredients in China had been contaminated with melamine. The product was only sold to Costco Canada and has already been reclaimed. A recall is not in place in the U.S because the product was never shipped to the USA and not available here. Only one brand is impacted at this time, and even then only the product that was was sold in Canada was affected. The company has been incredibly diligent about working with Canadian government and communicating with the industry throughout the whole process.
U.S. confectionery companies doing business in China have stringent quality control procedures in place for production of candy. These companies began testing product immediately when the alert on melamine contamination of milk was first issued. Additionally, all foods from China containing milk are being tested now by FDA at the border prior to entry.
Many companies make chocolate gold coins, especially around this time of year. Most are manufactured in the U.S., Germany, Belgium or Turkey and all are perfectly safe to eat. Other gold coins made in China are also safe to eat now that manufacturers are aware of the milk supply contamination and that milk has been destroyed. Again, FDA is testing all Chinese imports with milk as an ingredient.
As you know if you’ve been reading the blog, only one candy in the U.S. has been recalled due to melamine contamination – White Rabbit candy, a product made in China, by a Chinese company and sold mainly in Asian markets. If you have White Rabbit candy, the Food and Drug Administration advises you to throw it away or return it to the store. Do not eat White Rabbit candy at this time.
You can read our statement on the issue on the CandyUSA Web site. Please feel free to share it or this post with friends.
Again, there is nothing more important to us than ensuring a safe food supply and helping people celebrate a fun and safe and healthy Halloween. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.
