Notice of RetractionLead and Cadmium Content of Ten Most Popular Candies/Chocolates and Their Wrappers Favored by Students from a University in Manila, Philippines

Notice of Retraction

After careful and considered review of the content of this paper by a duly constituted expert committee, this paper has been found to be in violation of IEEE´s Publication Principles.

We hereby retract the content of this paper. Reasonable effort should be made to remove all past references to this paper.

The presenting author of this paper has the option to appeal this decision by contacting TPII@ieee.org.

Lead and cadmium are among the heavy metals considered as most toxic to humans because these tend to bio-accumulate. Ten different commercial brands of candies and chocolates available in the market and their corresponding candy wrappers were tested for lead and cadmium levels. Eight of the ten brands were chosen from a survey conducted among tertiary students in one of the top university in Manila, Philippines while the other two were added because the intended manner of consumption allows a direct contact between the wrapper and the mouth. The samples were acid digested and subjected to Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. All except one brand for both the candy and its corresponding candy wrapper and another for candy alone did not meet the US FDA and US EPA requirement limit for lead. Additionally none of the samples passed the cadmium limit. No correlation was observed between the heavy metal concentration between the candies/chocolates and their respective wrappers. Candies and chocolates must be monitored for lead and cadmium concentration. Other heavy metal contaminants must be studied as well. Levels of heavy metals in candies and chocolates including those in wrappers must be correlated with blood levels and adverse health effects monitored. Migration from the candy wrapper to the candy cannot be established in the study therefore it is recommended that a study aimed to establish this is done.