from Environmental Health Perspectives
California leads many other states in
consumer protection laws, but the rest of
us can benefit from some of those. The
first analysis of a law that mandates
testing of foods for contamination shows
imported candy is at the top of the
contaminated food list, with more health
alerts issued for lead in candy than three
other top contaminates combined. The
study, in Environmental Health
Perspectives, says the California law
resulted in active community monitoring
for lead in foods, such as candy, so they
can be recalled before large numbers of
children have eaten them. Lead is
especially toxic to children and without
such testing, health officials would have to
wait until after children had been poisoned
to look for the sources.