No foul play suspected in reports of tainted Halloween candy, RCMP says

Police in St. John's have received a second report of a sharp object found inside a package of Halloween candy, on the heels of metal in a package of Twizzlers licorice although police suspect no foul play is involved.

"Now where we have a product that seems to be related, you know, to two of the same manufacturer, certainly close attention to that product is warranted," RCMP Cpl. Jolene Garland said Wednesday.

Police received their first report of tainted candy on Saturday, when Sarah Garland of Spaniard's Bay found what appeared to be a needle inside a package of Twizzlers.

She told CBC News earlier this week that she had received the candy from a "trunk or treat" event, but it didn't appear that the candy was previously tampered with.

On Tuesday,staff at the the Trinity Conception Family Resource Centrewere going through the candy they had placed in 500 prepared loot bags after realizing they had bought the same candyat Walmart in Carbonear.

"In removing those candy, one of our staff actually found an object again, which appears to be a needle, in one of the Jolly Rancher candy,"Lisa Evely, the centre's program co-ordinator, said Wednesday.

"It was scary. If it wasn't for the incident prior to last weekend, we would have not even taken them out. We would have had no reason to."

WATCH |Police say manufacturing problem possible reason for sharp objects in candy:

Those sharp objects in candy were not needles and not put there on purpose: RCMP

15 days ago

Duration 1:22

The two incidents of what looked like to be sewing needles in licorice and a Jolly Rancher gummy were not put there on purpose, said RCMP Cpl. Jolene Garland on Wednesday. Police believe there is another way the sharp objects ended up in the candy.

Evelyhas since been in contact with Hershey Canada, which she said have been very thorough in gathering information. The candy will be returned for the company'sown investigation, she said, but no indication has been given as to what could have caused metal fragments to be found in multiple candy packages.

Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Garland said both pieces of candy came from sealed packagesandthere's no indication that the candy was tampered with locally.

"Evidence gathered as part of the investigation leads us to believe that there may have been something in the manufacturing processing of the product, and they certainly weren't intentionally altered locally here," she said.

In an emailed statement to CBC News on Wednesday, Hershey Companysenior communications manager Todd Scott saidproducts go through a strict qualityand safety programwhich includes metal detectors to ensure products leave the facility "in the quality and conditions consumers expect."

"Once our products leave our facility, we unfortunately do not have control over how they are handled. We know the recent news is worrisome and just like every Halloween, we encourage parents to help their children sort and check treats at home to ensure no products have been tampered with," Scott wrote.

Garland stressed the importance of checking children's Halloween candy each year. She said any packages that appear flat, ripped or previously opened should be avoided, and that anything suspicious should be reported to police.

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