Food RecallsAgencies Slow to Act on LeadFound in Mexican Candies
Posted Aug 26 2008 12:30pm
It’s bad enough when lead is in toys and other objects. It’s downright horrifying when it shows up in candy.
But most frightening of all is how long a contaminated food product stays on the market after problems have been discovered. Take Barrilito, a Mexican-made, dark, syrupy candy that was recalled on December 4th by the Food and Drug Administration after it was found to contain lead at 0.101 to 0.132 parts per million. The FDA warns that lead above 0.1. parts per million is “a potential public health hazard.”
While the recall was jointly announced December 4th by the Texas Department of State Health Services and the FDA, the e-mail alert wasn’t sent out until Dec. 12th. Why the long delay on a food product recall?
The FDA also delayed sending an e-mail alert on Queso Fresco Cheese , which it recalled December 6th for listeria contamination. Listeria can result in stillbirths and endanger immune-compromised individuals. Waiting six to eight days to send food recall alerts seems extraordinarily negligent.
But most frightening of all is how long a contaminated food product stays on the market after problems have been discovered. Take Barrilito, a Mexican-made, dark, syrupy candy that was recalled on December 4th by the Food and Drug Administration after it was found to contain lead at 0.101 to 0.132 parts per million. The FDA warns that lead above 0.1. parts per million is “a potential public health hazard.”
While the recall was jointly announced December 4th by the Texas Department of State Health Services and the FDA, the e-mail alert wasn’t sent out until Dec. 12th. Why the long delay on a food product recall?
The FDA also delayed sending an e-mail alert on Queso Fresco Cheese , which it recalled December 6th for listeria contamination. Listeria can result in stillbirths and endanger immune-compromised individuals. Waiting six to eight days to send food recall alerts seems extraordinarily negligent.
But lets get back to the lead-in-candy story, which goes deeper back in time. Hunting around for more information, it turns out the California Department of Public Health warned the public to stop eating Barrilito on August 22nd . That’s nearly four months ago!