Friday, September 21, 2007

Lead Concerns Prompt Warning About Lunch Boxes

Via Mercury News -

SACRAMENTO—State officials on Thursday urged consumers not to use some 56,000 potentially lead-tainted lunch boxes from China that were distributed through the Department of Public Health in an effort to get people to eat more fruits and vegetables.

Tests found elevated levels of lead in three of the boxes, officials said.

The boxes were given out at health fairs and other events and carried a logo saying "eat fruits and vegetables and be active."

"Certainly it's unfortunate that an item we're using to hopefully promote healthy behavior is then discovered to be a potential health hazard," the department's director, Mark Horton, said in a conference call with reporters.

He said a swab test conducted by the Sacramento County Health Department in July indicated that the boxes contained lead.

Several weeks of more sophisticated testing done through the state Department of Toxic Substance Control confirmed the presence of lead "in multiple parts of the box," including the logo, he added.

"I think we took the appropriate steps based on the information available to us at the time," Horton said when asked why it had taken so long to issue a warning to the public.

He said the department did tell community groups to stop requesting more of the boxes while the testing was taking place.

He also urged parents whose children may have used the boxes to consult with a physician to see if the kids should be tested for exposure to lead.

The green canvas boxes were imported from China by T-A Creations Inc. of Los Angeles.
Andrew Halim, company's vice president, said only the boxes' linings were tested and found to be free of lead before they were sold to the state through another company.


"That's the only request we had," Halim said in an interview.

But Horton said the lining of the tested boxes also contained some lead.

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