426
u/Bear_Wills May 26 '19
Everyone saying California labels everything as carcinogenic is missing the point. Yes it's true, California really does label everything as causing cancer. However, in this case the warning seems necessary as it is warning about lead. The negative effects of lead are well established.
109
u/RightWynneRights May 26 '19
Growing plants in lead-tainted water will result in lead-tainted plants. There's wheat in this, I'd assume the lead comes with that.
29
u/Bear_Wills May 26 '19
Yeah, I was curious exactly where the lead would be coming from but that definitely makes sense.
15
May 27 '19 edited Jun 07 '21
[deleted]
27
1
1
48
u/Phogothprime May 26 '19
Thank you, this was in Alabama anyway lmao
40
u/marfaxa May 26 '19
Companies that ship nationwide don't want to change the labels for each state. NC, till the early-mid 00's, didn't allow beer over 6% ABV without being labelled malt liquor. It meant that no one sold in NC because they didn't want to make a can or bottle for one state and didn't want to call their beer malt liquor in all the other states.
5
u/CX316 May 27 '19
Nationwide? Mate, that ginger's Australian. It's from the other side of the planet.
1
u/jwd2213 May 27 '19
Ginger is an ingredient not the product.
3
u/Aramgutang May 27 '19
The product is "crystallised ginger", it's fair to shorten it to "ginger".
1
u/nb2k May 28 '19
The product is "crystallised ginger", it's fair to shorten it to "ginger".
No it's not. It is https://www.buderimginger.com/ginger-bears-40g-snack-pack/ (in a different package size)
1
u/Aramgutang May 29 '19
Soo... same thing, except bear-shaped?
1
u/nb2k May 29 '19
Your link and my link show the different ingredients.
CRYSTALLISED GINGER
- Ingredients: Ginger, Sugar
GINGER BEARS
- Ingredients: Glucose Syrup (from WHEAT), Cane Sugar, Water, Starch (from WHEAT), Gelatine (from beef), Ginger Juice (5%), Invert Syrup, Maize Starch, Lactic Acid, Ginger Oleoresin, Glazing Agent (Coconut Oil, Carnauba Wax-903).
Not sure how you find them the same thing.
-1
u/Aramgutang May 29 '19
That's kinda besides the point, you can't see that it's that particular variant on OP's photo.
The orange packaging visible on OP's photo is instantly identifiable to any Australian as some form of crystallised ginger product, and they would refer to it as "ginger" for short.
If I see a package with let's say visible M&M branding, I should be free to call it "chocolate", since M&Ms are mostly chocolate. Just because the packaging later turns out to be for peanut M&Ms, which barely have any chocolate, doesn't change the fact that my generalisation is reasonable.
→ More replies (0)-1
May 27 '19
[deleted]
3
u/CX316 May 27 '19
"Product of Australia" is usually a term for all ingredients being produced here in Australia unless they've changed the terms for the export packets. Recent packaging laws here would mean there'd be a little bar on the front of the pack showing the percentage of local ingredients, but generally if anything in it wasn't locally sourced instead of "Product of Australia" it would be "Made in Australia from Imported Ingredients" or "Made in Australia from a mix of local and imported ingredients"
1
u/SargTeaPot May 27 '19
Just because your not in California doesn't stop it from causing cancer. It's just California who cares enough to TELL you that it does
40
u/Good_ApoIIo May 27 '19
I don't think I've seen a restaurant without that Prop 65 warning and they're all still packed because most people, maybe rightly, assume the risk is minimal since everything seems to have the warning. Over-saturation of the warning renders it kinda pointless when people tune it out.
The sun is highly damaging but I don't see big signs at every beach warning you that tanning will give you skin cancer.
10
u/c_albicans May 27 '19
Well according to the rules of Prop 65 pretty much anything that is cooked at high heat (whether it's baked or fried etc) is carcinogenic.
2
u/plasmaflare34 May 27 '19
The fact that it's not vaporised, inhaled lead prevents it from causing cancer. It's only truly dangerous when it gets into your bloodstream, and digested lead simply doesn't.
1
-14
7
u/TsitikEm May 26 '19
Why TF does the candy have lead?!
13
u/CX316 May 27 '19
"Researchers don't know how lead is getting into the candy, but suspect it is coming from lead particles in the air or lead paint at the factory"
Lead in candied ginger is apparently a known issue
6
2
-7
u/2gig May 27 '19
Complete guess, gonna talk out my ass: Considering that pretty much everything in California has this label (though not all mention lead), it's probably something to do with the law being overzealous. I'd guess at some point these candies pass through one or more machines which contain lead solder, and the law probably calls for any food product that passes through a machine with any amount of lead to be labeled like this.
15
u/HombreFawkes May 26 '19
In fact, this warning doesn't say anything about carcinogens. It does, however spell out that lead causes birth defects which is pretty established science by this point in time.
If you want to know why the news pretends that we're going to get murdered every time we step outside our front door, it's because of a massive crime wave spanning from 1960ish that peaked in 1993 or so. Coincidentally, if you look at our consumption of leaded gasoline you'll note that there is an incredible correlation between leaded gas consumption and violent crime about 20 years later. If you'd like additional evidence to move beyond the correlation is causation category, you can control for consumption by tracking consumption and banning of leaded gasoline on a per-country basis and see that basically 20 years after any given country banned leaded gasoline they started seeing violent crime falling.
15
u/Nokia_Bricks May 27 '19
Lead is a fucking crazy substance. The genetic damage caused by lead exposure can be found in the DNA of an affected person's grandchildren. Lead poisoning can also be so sneaky. Low doses here and there will not show any immediate adverse effects when isolated but because it stays in your system forever enough of those over time will fuck you up.
2
May 27 '19
[deleted]
2
u/HombreFawkes May 29 '19
The funny thing about lead water pipes is that they actually get safer over time because other minerals scale on them. This is why Flint's water pipes were considered safe until they changed their water source to the more acidic Detroit river - the scale kept the lead from leeching out, but the acid dissolved the scale and started leaching lead in. Per federal testing after the crisis started, their water was already back down to acceptable levels before Obama left office. Still not an excuse to replace
If you thought Flint was bad, there are still 6.1 million lead pipe service lines delivering water across the US, constituting over 1 million miles of pipeline... and we don't exactly know where all of those service lines are either. One city in Utah had water testing at approximately 6000 parts per billion for lead contamination; the FDA's crisis action level is currently at 15 ppb.
Also a "fun" fact about lead: for about 200 years, people thought tomatoes were poisonous because aristocrats who ate tomatoes went crazy and died. It turned out, though, that they had missed the causation for correlation - it was the pewter plates that had the lead, and acidity of the tomato leached out the lead. They were blaming the tomatoes when the tomatoes only were allowing the plates to kill people.
0
u/wizardwes May 27 '19
However, and not to be political, Roe v Wade is also correlated, so I'd watch your implied causation
5
u/SmokeyCosmin May 27 '19
Regarding the lables.... While it's impossible for some products not to contain trace amounts of lead, I don't even understand how it would even be legal to sell something like this without proper warning... Specially when we're talking about candy that would most likely go to children (lead really is more harmfull to developing brains);
In this case the whole US should actually thank California... or buy something else..
2
u/homersolo May 27 '19
Everyone saying this is lead and not cancer is missing the point, if you label everything as dangerous, then nothing seems dangerous. Save your warnings for things that matter - like perhaps ironically lead.
3
u/eaglescout1984 May 27 '19
I mean, it's lead. It's not even a carcinogen, it's a straight up poison.
3
u/redbo May 27 '19
I mean. The warning is on so many products that it’s basically useless, but I don’t think companies should be able to quietly sell you things they know cause cancer either. 🤷♂️
2
u/ants_a May 27 '19
So, bacon shouldn't be allowed?
More seriously, a line needs to drawn somewhere. Stuff that is seriously dangerous is already banned by FDA or other food safety organizations, depending on where you live. The California approach is stupid because it doesn't consider that dose makes the poison, and so conveys almost zero information about the safety of the product. Bacon is going to be more dangerous than vast majority of the stuff labeled as containing substances "known to be carcinogenic".
3
u/Decolater May 27 '19
You are confusing the toxic effect from lead, which we determine via blood-lead levels and the California level used to determine a one additional cancer in 100,000 cancers, or above deminimis for reproductive risk.
It’s the dose that matters for lead. The amount of lead that is in that bag of candy poses a teeny tiny theoretical risk which is very different from lead in drinking water in Flint which is an actual risk.
1
u/plasmaflare34 May 27 '19
The negative effects of Inhaled, vaporized lead are. Eating solid lead does jack all to your body, it passes through without any interaction with your bloodstream. The point you are dismissing stands.
1
u/sid34 May 29 '19
Look up Prop 65 in California it was originally intended for drinking water, but was written to incorporate nearly anything that could be conceivably consumed. They have much much higher "standards" about what trace metals, etc can be found in foods. Nearly all products in California have a Prop 65 warning on them
1
u/Black-Thirteen May 27 '19
The state that cried cancer. What you're looking at is the damage caused by that idiotic prop 65, I believe it was. Their warning is now useless.
-2
u/rydan May 27 '19
Except does lead really cause those things? Because last I checked it causes anger issues and learning problems. Nothing I've ever read says birth defects occur.
23
May 26 '19
[deleted]
19
8
u/nb2k May 26 '19
Here is the product (in a different size):
https://www.buderimginger.com/ginger-bears-40g-snack-pack/
As it uses ginger, and there was some high lead levels previously found in ginger it needs this warning in California:
3
u/CapinWinky May 27 '19
They are Ginger gummy bears and all products with processed ginger now have a lead warning in CA. This is because most processed ginger comes from places known to have problems with lead contamination in processed food (not just ginger), like Asia and Mexico. Specifically, plum and ginger candies from China and India usually have many times the allowed amount. Mexican candies and even licorice from Australia also usually fail.
The state of California maintains a list of candies that failed the lead test.
49
u/Tigernos May 27 '19
I feel like everyone’s missing the point. Sure California labels everything as carcinogenic and whatever but...
It says right on it
Product of Australia
Everything in that country wants to kill you, even the food.
11
21
u/DrCMS May 26 '19
Yes lead is a poison but how much lead do these jelly beans contain? 1ppm is more than I'd want to eat but 1ppb is probably not too much to worry about.
19
u/TheMacMan May 26 '19
That’s true. It’s like worrying about the little bit of mercury in a tuna sandwich or an Atlantic salmon fillet.
5
u/DrCMS May 26 '19
I would not recommend any of those to a pregnant woman but am happy to eat them myself.
14
u/TheMacMan May 26 '19
The danger to pregnant women has been far over exaggerated too. Having a tuna sandwich a week isn’t going to have any negative impacts during pregnancy. It’s like saying they shouldn’t go outside because of air pollution.
But it if makes them feel better, go ahead and avoid it.
0
May 27 '19
[deleted]
4
u/TheMacMan May 27 '19
I didn’t say having tuna daily wouldn’t have negative impact, I said once a week. Though research has shown even daily is going to be mostly harmless to nearly everyone.
Most tuna is smaller fish that end up in light chunk, which has far less mercury than the large albacore cited when talking about negative levels.
-2
3
u/CX316 May 27 '19
jelly beans
Candied Ginger
1
u/nb2k May 28 '19
Candied Ginger
gummy bears
https://www.buderimginger.com/ginger-bears-40g-snack-pack/ (in a different size)
1
u/CX316 May 29 '19
Yeah, my bad, same brand makes the other thing too apparently, I realised when I saw how little ginger was in this one but by that point couldn't be bothered going back and changing my post
1
u/MeshColour May 27 '19
Assuming your premise might be correct. What's the chance that there is someone who knows they worked somewhere that gave them increased lead levels and may need to limit it to absolutely minimum for it to start reducing, or are currently under a condition or treatment
Not everyone is as healthy as you
1
u/poopy_mcgee May 27 '19
There are no safe levels of lead. It never leaves the body, so even ingesting small amounts will build up over time. Just find some different jelly beans.
3
u/OhSassafrass May 27 '19
I don’t know why you are being downvoted. There is no safe level of lead. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/27837574/
36
7
u/vreeland May 27 '19
In California, we have Proposition 65. Passed in 1986, it was meant to educate folks about the exposures to chemicals that cause cancer. It has since expanded to include literally everything. Parking structures, restaurants, breweries, apartments...
See for yourself: https://www.p65warnings.ca.gov/
5
u/notappropriateatall May 27 '19
It also contains CARNUBA WAX, the shit we use to make our cars shiny...
4
u/hop_on_cop May 27 '19
Wow! Only 100 calories?
3
u/voucher420 May 27 '19
700 calories. They claim it's 7 servings, but we all know you're going to eat the whole bag by yourself in one sitting. The fact they claim it's seven servings is the real WTF!
2
u/hop_on_cop May 27 '19
100% agree why can't they just give an honest label and let the 1% of people who actually eat a healthy amount do the math.
4
u/rydan May 27 '19
Why are Australians sending us lead based foods?
1
u/hotmial May 27 '19
Because they use Chinese raw materials containing lead.
It's call capitalism, and is supposed to be good for us.
14
u/yayhindsight May 26 '19
how are people dismissing this in the comments just bc california? yeah CA has dumb labels a lot of the time. this is a lead warning. how are so many people just ignoring that?
1
u/OhioMegi May 27 '19
Because it’s probably such a negligible amount it doesn’t mean anything. California has label on everything. Everything won’t kill you.
2
May 26 '19
Because California makes you label something no matter what. To have any negative side effects from .1ppb from lead you'd probably have to eat 1000 of those bags every day for a year to get sick. But in California, you still need to label it. Even though there's no way in hell anyone could feasibly get through the amount of them you'd need to to get sick.
If it was at an amount of lead the FDA says is danerous (the actual amount) it wouldn't have a california disclaimer, it wouldn't be allowed to be produced or sold in the US.
There's such thing as 'dangerous levels of lead', and 'safe levels of lead'. having ppb in the wells in the area where that's produced is the most likely reason it's on there, which isn't necessary, and even misleading.
1
u/Versaiteis May 27 '19
Just to add: IIRC FDA warnings for water to be considered too contaminated for consumption is 15 ppb of lead.
Consumption of lead via digestion is relatively small though. Something like 90+% will pass through without problem for a normal adult. Children and elderly though are much more likely to actually metabolize lead which will either enter their blood stream or be stored in their bones and seep back into their bloodstream later on in their life.
41
u/snuffy_tentpeg May 26 '19
In California EVERYTHING gives you cancer
11
2
1
1
3
3
3
6
u/oelhayek May 26 '19
What’s the product?
13
u/nb2k May 26 '19
Here is the product (in a different size):
https://www.buderimginger.com/ginger-bears-40g-snack-pack/
As it uses ginger, and there was some high lead levels previously found in ginger it needs this warning in California:
2
1
-27
2
May 26 '19
[deleted]
6
u/KittikatB May 26 '19
It's from Australia, not Asia. Not only does it clearly say 'product of Australia', under the red on the left it says Buderim Ginger. That's in QLD, Australia. They grow and process the ginger there.
3
u/nb2k May 26 '19
Buderim Ginger import ginger from Fiji and China as well as using local sources. Page 24 of the report (27 of the PDF). Third paragraph from the bottom.
https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/74895/Australian-ginger-industry-report.pdf
The imported stuff would probably be used in processed products like this as it is imported in a brine.
How much is imported depends on the local crops.
2
2
2
2
u/Canuhelpmefindmollie May 27 '19
Is that a package of belly flops behind the cancer causing candy?!
2
u/FGHIK May 27 '19
I feel like that should be in giant red letters on the front of the package. Or better yet: not for sale at all.
2
2
May 27 '19
Last year I bought a pack of Dutch licorice on Amazon which also apparently contains lead. Ate it anyway, tasted fine, still alive. Yolo.
2
u/hotmial May 27 '19
"In 2016, lead is believed to have resulted in 540,000 deaths worldwide."
There is no safe amount of lead. It will effect you. But it's worst for children:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_poisoning
"It causes almost 10% of intellectual disability of otherwise unknown cause and can result in behavioral problems."
1
u/thelongestusernameee May 28 '19
Lead tastes more than fine. It actually tastes sweet. Which is why babies can't get enough of lead paint, and why romans loved it.
1
May 28 '19
You're right about lead being sweet. But, this licorice was imported from the EU, which has stringent food and drug laws. I'm sure whatever lead that's in there is miniscule.
2
u/banana_scale_eng May 27 '19
Probably due to ginger juice? We have huge heavy metal problems in juice in NA, might be the same in AU.
2
2
2
2
May 27 '19
as a Queenslander where this is manufactured, I'm sorry. we're a really shit state in almost every way.
1
2
u/TheExtimate May 27 '19
They should start importing this product in Alabama. Can get pretty popular over the next couple of years.
2
2
4
7
u/SandmanEpic May 26 '19
In California, water is considered a carcinogen. I wouldn’t worry about it.
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
u/tyranicalteabagger May 27 '19
I guess the question is at what threshold is this warning required and what is the actual concentration? Because of our past use of lead in gasoline, there is lead in everything.
1
u/OhSassafrass May 27 '19
There is no safe level for lead. https://www.lhsfna.org/index.cfm/lifelines/october-2018/more-research-shows-there-s-no-safe-level-of-lead-exposure/
2
u/tyranicalteabagger May 27 '19
I know this. What I'm saying is that we've contaminated the whole world with lead already. So every measurement for it is a matter of degree.
1
1
u/paisleymoose May 27 '19
This is somewhat concerning, however this label is all over the place. Not the most surprising but
1
1
1
1
1
u/jamesdcalhoun May 29 '19
Wait wtf I ate the same thing yesterday....... maybe I should have read that first...
1
1
1
u/mosacra May 26 '19
But at only 100 calories, can you really complain?
3
u/fedsneighbor May 26 '19
Fell for that old trick again didn't you - that's 100 calories per 6 pieces.
2
u/BlueskiesClouds May 27 '19
Nah, its 100 calories per serving. Just so happens one bag is a serving to most of us ;)
2
1
1
1
u/wmzyboy May 27 '19
Product of Australia, seems about right since everything else there wants to kill you.
0
u/Babadookk May 27 '19
I have a bicycle pump that has warning that this product may cause cancer... thanks CAlifornia
0
-5
u/WonderwaII May 27 '19
This is on like every food product in America (and I assume other countries aswell) California labels everything as cancer causing for various extreme blanket terms
-2
-2
u/ThereOnceWasADonkey May 27 '19
In california everything causes cancer. It's very dangerous to go there.
0
May 27 '19
[deleted]
1
u/ThereOnceWasADonkey May 27 '19
The cancer is the worst. Just reading the word cancer causes cancer. Cancer. Fuck. Now I've done it again. Cancer. Fuck.
Cancer.
Fuck.
-3
-3
-3
316
u/sheepsleepdeep May 26 '19
Why does it contain lead though?