CHILDREN ARE MORE AT RISK FROM RADIATION

I have a new hero. His name is Toshiso Kosako. Until recently, he held the very prestigious position of Senior Nuclear Adviser to the Government of Japan. But I don’t admire him because of his importance. I admire him because he gave it up, and for the reason he gave it up. That took a lot of guts and showed tremendous integrity.

Among the reasons he reportedly gave up the adviser post was that he could not go along with allowing children living near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to receive doses of radiation that are equivalent to levels established for adult nuclear power plant workers. He understands that they are more vulnerable. This greater vulnerability also applies to any nuclear (or other toxic) contaminants they receive from food.

When this crisis began, I blogged the special dangers pregnant women needed to be aware of. Maybe I should have given more attention to infants and young children. Their bodies are much smaller, and therefore a small quantity of a toxic substance can affect them as much as a larger quantity would affect an adult.

Their brains and bodies are also still developing and can be easily damaged. In addition, infants are sometimes more vulnerable to toxic substances in the environment because they crawl and put things in their mouth. In fact, they could be exposed from several sources - the atmosphere, direct contact with contaminated surfaces, and contaminated food and water.

But a final thought on the food issue: infants and young children can also be more exposed to toxic iodine and cesium from radiation-contaminated food, because they rely on a limited range of food and drink, day after day. This concentrates their risk. If one of these is contaminated - such as milk, apple juice, certain vegetables, it can be very bad news indeed.

Thank you Mr. Kosako, for speaking out for children.

TSF

WHY IS LEAD IN CANDY?

This is probably a final blog on this topic. But it is important. Most children eat candy. The last thing parents want is for that candy to be contaminated with lead.

The current revelation of high levels of lead in candy imported from Pakistan is not the first - nor will it be the last incident. Throughout the years, there have been cases in the United States of lead-contaminated imported candy from various countries. In fact, in 2009, the Food and Drug Administration advised pregnant women and young children not to eat candy imported from Mexico because of this risk.

How do you know when the lead is there? The point is, you don't. The candy tastes the same. Nor will you (or your children) have symptoms at the lower blood levels. As the levels of lead in blood rise, symptoms will start to appear. The younger the child, the more he or she will be at risk because lead affects the child's developing nerves and brain. The fetus is especially vulnerable, which is why pregnant women need to be so careful. When symptoms do appear, they are often vague and easy to dismiss - irritability, sleeplessness, anemia, headaches, loss of appetite, low energy, and so on.

How does lead get into the candy? Spices could be the cause, especially chili powder which is extensively used in candies and soft drinks to give them that extra "punch." As explained in The Safe Food Handbook (section on "Can There be Lead in our Spices?), it could happen because of the way the chilies are dried, processed or stored. So is domestic candy any safer? It is hard to tell. It may also use imported chili spices as an ingredient. But both spices and candy are tested for such unhealthy substances, although such testing cannot cover or catch everything.

TSF

TOXIC CANDY

I love the black humor in their branding, and can see why the products appeal to a certain age-group of children. Even my dog was excited by the odd noises emitted by their website. And the company's facebook site, with about 1,600 fans, offers $1,000 reward to the person who posts the funniest image of eating their candy (I am tempted...).

But I wonder if Circle City Marketing and Distributing (doing business as Candy Dynamics, Indianapolis), foresaw how the labels of "Toxic Waste" and "Nuclear Sludge" children's candy might play in the event that they really turned out to be toxic to children.

And they have. The FDA has announced some of "Nuclear Sludge®" brand ones contain levels of lead above the U.S. FDA's maximum tolerance level of 0.1 ppm). This could cause health problems, particularly for infants, small children, and pregnant women - and especially if they eat several pieces of candy, as many children (and, yes, guilty) adults do. The posts on their facebook site show that fans eat 20 or more at a sitting! In fact, some scientists are concerned that many American children's high levels of lead (not found to be linked to any paint issues), are indeed caused by what they eat - or suck on, such as candy. This is a serious health issue (I'll do a future blog).

The company is recalling all lots and all flavors of the smaller sized "Nuclear Sludge" candies that were distributed from the product's inception in May 2009 through January 2011. These candies were imported from Pakistan. They were distributed nationwide in retail stores and through mail orders in the US, as well as in Canada, and in limited quantities in Guatemala, Ireland, Jordan, Korea, Mexico, El Salvador, South Africa, and who knows where else. Thank you again risky imports.

I am pleased to say that the company is discontinuing the sale of Nuclear Sludge® products in the U.S. (Canada - take action too). Let's just stick to getting our toxic waste from the environment instead of from our candy!

TSF