How to Identify the Bad Candy in a Kid's Halloween Bag

Trick-or-treating is a rite of passage for kids. For parents, the overflowing bag of candy their child will bring home on Halloween night can be cause for concern. Aside from the guaranteed cavities, they want to know if the candy is OK to consume. These guidelines will help you toss the bad and keep the good, so your kids can have a safe sugar high.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Establish the "Bring it Home First" rule. Tell the children in your charge that they must bring home all candy for your inspection before eating it. Don't scare them, but make it clear that this is nonnegotiable.

2. Toss the fruit. Apples and oranges often get thrown in to Halloween bags with lollipops and chocolate. Unfortunately, you don't know where that ripe-looking apple has been or what it's been exposed to, so the safest action is to throw it away.

3. Examine everything that is not wrapped. Many parents throw out anything unwrapped, which is a good idea. However, in some circumstances, candy may not be wrapped because it was homemade or was bought in bulk. Accept this type of unwrapped candy only if you know the giver.

4. Smell everything. It's hard to tell with candy, but sometimes a slight stale odor can be a good indicator of bad candy. Some people like to keep leftover candy for next year's Halloween. Although it would probably be harmless for your child, foods have expiration dates for good reasons.

5. Study candy for texture and shape. Flattened candy bars are not great Halloween treats. Chocolate that looks spotty and has patches of white on the surface is old and stale or has been refrigerated for a long time.

6. Throw out all candy that has been opened. Chances are, your child's pillowcase full of goodies was tossed around and this caused some wrappers to come undone. If Halloween candy has even the slightest rip, tear or hole, put it in the garbage.

Tips & Warnings

• Lollipops that are particularly brittle or break easily are usually older than a sucker that doesn't fall to pieces during the first bite.
• Some cities are starting to use police detection services on Halloween to assist parents in identifying the bad candy. Check to see if your town offers this service.
• Remember the old saying, "When in doubt, throw it out."

[copperdots]

on 10/31/2009 1healthymom, the precaution of tossing out the fruit is to make sure children don't get poisoned or cut by glass, razor blades, or needles in the fruit; I remember when I was a child (back in the '70s), many people were putting these things in the candy, so I can only imagine what they did to the fruit.

[1healthymom]

on 10/31/2009 It's a shame that we must throw away the real food (apples and other fruit) While our children eat the poison.

[gogo10]

on 10/31/2009 great and identfiy

[jennae]

on 10/31/2009 Great thanks for all tips very important to know!

[dividedfork]

on 10/31/2009 Good advice for keeping your kids safe. 5*