The Lombardi Law Firm Blog

Beggars Night Out and "Hurricane Katrina"

Trick or Treat!

Trick or Treat! Memories of childhood….begging for candy at neighbors’ doors and the fun of being out in the dark on a school night. Most of my childhood Halloween trick or treating was spent in a snow suit or at the very least, a coat that covered the costume I had spent months thinking about. I grew up in Buffalo, NY.

Things are different now. No longer is it the standard princess or fireman costume. Costumes today reflect our culture of television, movies, and politics instead of the jobs we want to do. For example, the most popular girl costume for 2009 is Hannah Montana, which quite frankly I don’t understand, maybe it is a generational thing. For boys, the most popular costume is Wolverine X-Men, which considering that Hugh Jackman portrayed this character in the movie, I completely understand the attraction with this choice. These costumes were the most popular on the Extreme Halloween website. At the Do It Yourself website, Michael Jackson is the costume of choice. With the opening of the movie, This is It, that should help tremendously to push this costume to the top.

Safety tips for a fun and safe Halloween:

 

Children under a certain age should be accompanied by an adult.

 

Costumes and masks should not restrict movement or vision.

 

Costumes should be reflective and a flashlight should be with each group. It would be beneficial for each child to carry a glow stick as well.

 

If your child is old enough to go trick or treating with friends, agree on the route they will be taking and what time they will be home.

 

For this same group, make sure they know that vandalism is not an acceptable trick.

 

Talk to your children about safety; about looking before crossing the street and not getting into cars with strangers.

 

Stress the importance of checking the candy with you when they return home. Make a game of it for young children, have them sort it by type and this will allow you to make sure it is safe to eat.

Happy Birthday to my own little treat who was born 23 years ago on Halloween, my daughter, Katrina.

Food Safety: Halloween candy made in China wins the scariest ghost costume.

1.        Is your kids Halloween candy safe?

With Halloween being right around the corner food safety has to be on every mother’s mind. What candy is made in China? What is the likelihood that melamine could contaminate the candy my child is given? Ever parent needs to consider warning their children to eat no candy while on the go but to wait till they get home and allow the parents the opportunity to inspect their booty. No ifs, ands, or buts allowed.

And if there is any possibility of contamination, play it safe and throw it out!

1.      Candy made in China sickens 23 schoolchildren in Cebu.

2.       

3.      Melamine found in sunflowers.

4.       

5.      Jelly beans.

6.       

7.      Lollypops made in China.

8.       

9.      Halloween Candy "Made in China" Buy At Your On Risk

10.   

11.  Gummies from China

Here is the querie I Googled:  Where can I get a complete list of Chinese companies that manufacture candy and that are sold in the United States?

What came up? Company List - Found 547 companies for 'Candy'

Obviously it would be senseless to list those companies here. This Halloween instead of risking kidney failure for your children write to the lobbyists send a message to the foreign companies who sell candy in the U.S. market by not buying their candy. This will demand they clean up their act.

And if you didn’t have enough to worry about with melamine, look what Mars and Nestle are lobbying the halls of Washington about. The right to sell candy intended for 3 – to 8- year olds that has a small toy inside the chocolate shell.

The fight is over a product called Nestle Magic, a chocolate ball covering a plastic shell, inside of which is a small plastic toy in the form of a Disney character. The product is aimed at 3- to 8-year-olds.

A child is supposed to break open the chocolate, separate the two halves of the plastic shell and take out the hard plastic figure. Some consumer groups have complained that the product is dangerous because the toy presents a choking hazard. They argue that it is irresponsible to associate toys with something that goes into the mouth, like candy.

It makes me wonder what the children of lobbyists eat for Halloween.