Trick or Treat! Look Out for Tampered Candy!

By: Aiyanna Bailey

After long hours of late-night trick or treating, children are always protective when parents rifle through their candy. However, there is a reason for this action. In North America, many cases of “tampered” candy have been reported, some even leading to death, confirming parents' worst fears of unsafe trick or treating. 

Over the years, many children have found suspicious specimens in their candy, while some even find appalling items inside various types of candy. For example, just in the past 10 years, razor blades, sewing needles, bugs, and even poison have been reported in Halloween candy. 

The first report of tampered Halloween candy was in 1959 when a California dentist handed out laxative-laced candy to young trick or treaters in his neighborhood. Later, a New York mother handed out bags of candy that also contained arsenic-laced ant traps, metal mesh scrubbing pads, and dog biscuits. In 1968, the Toronto police discovered apples that contained razor blades. Later on, during the year of 1974, a child in Texas died after consuming a Pixy Stick that was found to contain cyanide. In 2000, a Minnesota man was charged with felony after he deliberately handed out chocolate bars which were reported to contain needles! One of the children who received these bars even reported an injury but was not majorly wounded. Over the past decades, many other parents and children have reported multiple cases of tampered candy, with some even hospitalizing children. 

Even with all these cases of tampered candy popping up around the United States, the offenders have not been punished to the fullest extent of their crimes. For instance, a mother who put needles inside chocolate candy bars was let off with only two years in a physics ward and is now back in civilization. 

Even though these instances are real and very serious threats, make sure to still have fun trick or treating this year. But, when counting your late-night spoils this Halloween, be careful to look out for evidence of tampered candy!

Image Credit: Luke Jones/Flickr