These candies, which have been banned in Southern Nevada, are being tested at a lab at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas at the request of the Southern Nevada Health District. Some such candies have been found to contain harmful levels of lead. Photo by K.M. Cannon. Shawn Gerstenberger, chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health in the School of Public Health at UNLV, explains which types of confiscated Mexican candies have been found to contain lead. Photo by K.M. Cannon.

Stores identified as selling certain types of imported Mexican candies found to contain harmful levels of lead are complying with the Southern Nevada Health District's recent ban.

However, environmental health officials believe these products are still being sold in Southern Nevada. They just don't know where to look.

"There's lots of this candy out there, and there's a strong possibility it is being repackaged by distributors under different names,'' said Glenn Savage, director of environmental health for the Health District. "That's making it difficult for us."

Savage said the Health District is currently working with the Food and Drug Administration, the National Confectioners Association and at least two American candy manufacturers with facilities in Mexico to identify candies that might contain lead.

"They've been cooperative so far and are willing to provide us with laboratory data, such as (candy) ingredients and data on materials such as the wrappers and the ink used on those wrappers. They are also sending us pictures of their products to help better educate our staff on how to identify their candy and those that are questionable,'' Savage said, referring to the manufacturers.

Health District officials said they didn't want to release the names of stores where they confiscated the "questionable" candy or manufacturers because its hard to pinpoint exactly where the candy came from, and not all candy tested positive for lead.

Lead is a poison that can affect a person's organs, especially the brain. In children, it can lead to learning disabilities, behavioral problems and, at very high levels, seizures, coma and even death, federal health officials say.

Children are often exposed when they are near paint containing lead, and lead-containing dust in their homes.

Although it is found in certain candy ingredients, lead can also be found in some candy wrappers; on ink used on the wrappers; on sticks used to mount the candy; and in ceramic pots used to hold candy such as tamarind, said Shawn Gerstenberger, chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

In February, the Health District issued a ban on all Lucas products in the form of powders and salts, candies made in Mexico that contain chili powder, tamarind candies in glazed ceramic containers from Mexico, and Tama Roca Candy -- lollipops with straws -- from Mexico.

Tamarind is a type of tropical fruit that can be mixed with sugar to make candy. Lucas is a subsidiary of Mars Inc.

The move, which FDA officials say was the first in the United States by a county health agency, followed an investigation by UNLV.

Gerstenberger along with research students tested more than 10,000 pieces of candy from the Las Vegas Valley area. He said several consistently showed high levels of lead. Those pieces were shipped to the FDA for confirmation, Gerstenberger said.

"Someone has to step up and they did,'' Gerstenberger said last week from his lab at UNLV about the Health District's cease and desist order issued on Feb. 17. The order informs stores they can no longer advertise or sell the products.

Michael Herndon, a spokesman for the FDA's Washington, D.C., office, said the department received two samples from UNLV. Both contained high levels of lead. The lead, however, wasn't discovered in the candy, but on a straw mount. Herndon said that information was turned over to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

What's making this issue difficult for all federal, state and local health agencies is the candies could be making their way here in the trunks of cars or, they could be sold in private backyards.

"There are times when someone who owns a small store and they have friends or relatives who go back to Mexico and bring small quantities of this type of candy back to sell. Those are the types of things we can't control," he said.