Parents who want to protect their children from lead have obvious targets, like old, flaking paint. Thanks to the work of Generation Green and its partner, the Center for Environmental Health (CEH), consumers now know that products like costume jewelry and vinyl lunchboxes can also expose kids to lead. But who would think we would need to be vigilant when we go to the corner store to buy the brightly packaged candies our children crave? Why would we suspect that products designed to be eaten by our children might contain dangerously high levels of lead?

The answer: Because they sometimes do.

Mind you, we’re not talking about major-brand candy. That Snickers bar or Reese’s or bag of M&Ms isn’t a lead threat. The danger lies in various Mexican candies that can contain shocking levels of lead. And the saddest part is that such candies are made by companies owned by both Mars and Hershey.

Small Mexican candy companies are a drop in the bucket in the United States compared to the big guys, but their market share is on the rise. With the help of U.S. candy makers who have bought Mexican companies or built their own, Mexico has more than tripled its candy sales in the United States since the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect in 1994. The Mexican candy industry is also expected to claim an $880 million market share this year. Companies like Mars and Hershey are buying up Mexican candy for a reason: The rising Hispanic population make them one of the candies of the future.

Mexican candy may not seem like a threat to your family—and it likely is not an immediate threat to most families in the United States. But it is a very real threat to children and families in neighborhoods where Mexican candy is sold, primarily in or near Latino neighborhoods in the Southwest United States. It is simply unconscionable for businesses to allow lead into the products that any children eat, whether they are our children, our neighbor’s children, or children in another state or country. We all have an interest in protecting children’s health.

In July 2004, the Environmental Health Coalition of San Diego/Tijuana, along with CEH, filed a lawsuit against manufacturers, distributors and retailers of Mexican candy contaminated with lead. The lawsuit called on manufacturers to eliminate the lead from their candies, which can result from contamination from leaded dirt in the chilis, lead-based paint on packaging and/or bad manufacturing processes. The lawsuit has already led to concerted efforts to eliminate the lead danger.

But defendants in the lawsuit, including Mars and Hershey, have thus far refused to settle the matter and adopt enforceable standards to protect children from lead in their candies. For nearly two years CEH and EHC have been negotiating with candy producers to resolve the problem. Meanwhile, testing commissioned by EHC, CEH and by the state of California show that candies from Mexico with high lead levels are still a problem.

Mars and Hershey are profiting from sales of this candy, but they refuse to take responsibility for the irreparable and needless harm their products are causing to children, families and communities.

An action letter appears below. Please take a moment to send it to both the Mars and Hershey companies. Feel free to alter or expand upon the letter if you’d like. For more information on this issue, click here.

SAMPLE LETTER: