Warnings issued on Mexican candy -- but don't look for it in Lodi stores

An imported candy from Mexico called Chaca Chaca should be avoided, particularly by infants, young children and pregnant women, because it may contain excessively high levels of lead, a warning issued by the state Department of Health Services said.

Chaca Chaca is a brownish-red colored fruit bar coated with chili powder and can be found in several small stores in California, state health officials said.

However, Chaca Chaca could not be found at several of Lodi's Mexican produce stores -- including Dos Hermanos Market on Central Avenue, Los Portales Market and La Capilla Market, both on Cherokee Lane -- visited Friday afternoon.

Moreover, workers at the stores had never even heard of the candy.

Juan Diaz, owner of La Capilla Market, had several bags of varied imported Mexican candies on his shelves -- but no Chaca Chaca. Diaz said he had never heard of Chaca Chaca, and, in fact, was expecting to get rid of most of his Mexican candy in the near future.

"It's slow moving, and doesn't give me a lot of money," Diaz said. "Even the Mexican kids, they like Snickers or Almond Joy, the American candy."

At the Los Portales Market candy was sold in individual bins at the front of the store. However, none contained Chaca Chaca.

Dos Hermanos keeps its candy bags in cabinets beneath breaded sweets at the far end of the store. Again, no Chaca Chaca.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has placed Chaca Chaca on its "import alert" list after finding that the candy may include as much as .3 to .4 milligrams of lead per gram of product. The candies are sold in packages of individually wrapped strips that have the picture of a locomotive on the wrapper. They are sold in 30 grams weight per piece. Children under six should not consume more than six grams of lead a day.

A child under six eating one of the contaminated candies could ingest nearly twice the recommended level. Pregnant women and particularly infants should also avoid the candy, the FDA warns.

A list of local childhood lead prevention programs is available at http://www.dhs.cahwnet.gov/childlead/.">www.dhs.cahwnet.gov/childlead/">http://www.dhs.cahwnet.gov/childlead/.

The California Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch can be reached at (510) 622-5000 in order to obtain a list of lead prevention programs.