From the file labeled “in poor taste” comes a news brief out of China…

SHENZHEN DAILY – CHINA DAILY
Updated: 2005-05-10 08:44

CANDY STEALING BOYS STRIPPED OF CLOTHES

A storekeeper stripped three boys, aged 6-9, of their clothes after she caught them stealing candies in Shenzhen, on Saturday.

The three boys, two without their shirts and one without his pants, then ran the three blocks to their home in tears.

The storekeeper, nicknamed Fatty Aunt, caught one of the children stealing candies and demanded the children brought their parents to deal with the issue.

The children disobeyed and Fatty Aunt ordered them to take off their clothes and tell their parents to reclaim the clothes.

Two obeyed and the youngest boy was stripped of his pants after he refused.

Their parents said the three boys could not stop crying after returning home.

“I don’t know how to explain and educate him. Stealing is wrong, but he was so humiliated for his wrongdoing,” said an angry father.

The father said his youngest child didn’t sleep the whole night and refused to go to school the second day.

He told his parents he couldn’t face his classmates.

Fatty Aunt apologized and returned the clothes after the parents threatened to take her to police.

She said she was so angry she did not think about the children’s feelings but said it was not the first time they stole candies.

A psychologist said the storekeeper was definitely wrong because her actions could seriously hurt the children.

It was difficult to evaluate the bad influence on their psychology as the incident happened at such a tender age. He urged people to take prudent approachs to educate children

In keeping with the launch of the 2005 remake of Willy Wonka, now known as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, we have recieved our shipment of the fabled Wonka Chocolate Bar.

These great tasting bars are great looking and with every bar is the chance of winning “buckets o’ cash” which translates to $10,000! Of course, you have to find the elusive GOLD WRAPPER which won’t give you keys to the kingdom but will give you some serious spending money…

We would love to hear to hear your thoughts , opinions and ramblings about the new film as we greatly value the opinions of candy lovers around the globe.

To take a look at the “Official” Wonka Chocolate Bar, please click here

Just added yet another unusual candy product that deals with a body part.

There seems to be a fascination with body parts as the industry has introduced Gummi Eyeballs, Ear Wax Candy and countless other permutations this year.

It’s a little draining trying to keep up with the ever changing candy world and that is why the new Extremely Sour Brain Drain Candy caught my attention.

Packaged in a cute, squished brain shaped container, this candy is guaranteed to please or serve as a metaphor.

As the manufacturer so aptly writes on the box, ” eat your brains out….”

To take a non draining, quick peak, please click here

Prevention experts are concerned about a new marijuana-flavored lollipop known as “chronic candy” that they say promotes drug use to youth and could be a gateway product for future drug use. Responding to growing sales of the product, local government leaders, policymakers and community officials in Atlanta, Georgia formed the Coalition Against Chronic Candy, which has helped persuade some retailers to remove the candy from store shelves.

While the candy contains no THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, community leaders say its suggestive marketing and packaging as candy, slogans like “every lick is like taking a hit” and celebrity endorsements can easily catch the attention of teens. The product is packaged with images of bright green marijuana leaves and on the website customers can purchase “chronic candy” gear and accessories.

“Chronic candy and any other marijuana-flavored products are a threat to our youth because they give the false impression that marijuana is fun and safe,” said George Crawford, Coordinator of the Coalition Against Chronic Candy (also known as “kronic kandy”). “Products such as chronic candy and other similar ones packaged as lollipops can fall into the hands of unsuspecting youth and can serve as a gateway product for future marijuana use.”

Atlanta is not the first city to take notice. New York City lawmakers recently condemned sales of the product for glamorizing drug use. The makers of Chronic Candy say 300 stores carry the product nationwide, including gas stations, convenient stores and smoke shops. The candy is also sold widely on the Internet.

National organizations, such as The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA), are also concerned about the message chronic candy could be sending to youth. “Anything that makes marijuana look like candy is bad for our children,” said Joseph A. Califano, Jr. Chairman and President of CASA.

In response to the negative publicity, Chronic Candy CEO Tony Montana responded in a statement that the candy is “100% legal,” noting that the company markets the candies to people over the age of 18 only. “Near-beer isn’t considered a threat to society or thought to be an inducement for kids to drink real beer. Chocolate cigarettes are in the market but those aren’t targeted.” he said.

NO COMMENT NECESSARY….

NORTH KOREA SAYS CANDY IS GOOD FOR CHILDREN

27 May 2005 08:34:03 GMT
Source: Reuters

SEOUL, May 27 (Reuters) – Candy is dandy for North Korean children trying to grow tall, strong and smart in a country battling chronic food shortages.

North Korea has developed a candy it claims is good for children and will help them increase their height, weight and IQ, a pro-North Korea newspaper published in Japan said on Friday..

“Unlike medications that help growth by clinical methods or hormonal effects, the growth nutritional candy has no negative side effects,” the Choson Sinbo said, based on an interview with the head of a nutritional research centre in the North.

Unlike sugar-packed and chocolate-covered sweets, the North is hoping that children in the reclusive state will enjoy munching on their nutritional candy made of seaweed, beans, carrots and sesame seeds, the newspaper said.

The candy report comes on the same day a top U.N. agency official said the food shortage crisis in North Korea is growing more severe by the day and the communist state is dispensing “starvation rations” to its population.

PERHAPS THEY HAVE HIRED MR.WONKA TO CREATE THIS FABULOUS KID FRIENDLY CONCOCTION…

New York City Council Health Committee Chairwoman Christine Quinn introduced a bill that would outlaw the sale of what she termed “dangerously sized candy,” such as large mint balls, jawbreakers and other hard sweets, to people under 14. She defined dangerously sized candy as between 3/4 of an inch and 13/4 of an inch in diameter, reported New York Post.

What we they think of next?

Bazooka Bubble Gum, an American icon if there ever was one, is manufactured by Topps , an American candy instutution.

In the never changing and often depressing world of “the candy industry”, another major player may be in trouble…

According to New York Business, an online periodical,

TOPPS MAY SELL CANDY BUSINESS

Manhattan-based Topps Co. is considering putting its candy unit up for sale amid pressure from shareholders who are waging a proxy fight.

Topps said last week that it had hired Lehman Brothers earlier this year to evaluate strategic alternatives, including a sale of the confectionary business, which includes Bazooka bubble gum. Topps also makes collectible items such as baseball cards.

The announcement follows calls by minority shareholder Pembridge Capital Management to elect three new board members who would consider selling all or part of the company. The Manhattan-based hedge fund says the company’s operating performance and declining stock price have slid over the past five years, while executives have been paid “egregious” salaries and bonuses. ..

I guess it is a sign of the times.

First they get rid of the bubble gum sticks that came in every package of trading cards (it is said that this was done to protect the last card from being discolored) and now Topps may be getting rid of their candy division altogether.

Stay tuned…….

Thanks to Nestle for providing these amazing facts about the new movie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory…

Let it go without saying that we are quite interested in this film as it portays our industry in such a marvelous, and fictious, light…

AND NOW, JUST THE FACTS, MAAM….

Wonka’s Chocolate Room – 206,563.48 US gallons of fake chocolate was made for the River area.- 38,430.41 US gallons of fake chocolate were made for the waterfall. Total on stage 244,993.89 US gallons of fake chocolate.

Fake chocolate bars- 110,000 plastic candy bars were made and wrapped by Nestle. These were mostly used for Mr. Salt’s Nut Factory when his 500 employees ripped the wrappers off to find the Golden Ticket for his daughter Veruca.

1850 real chocolate bars were made by Nestle for the film- A special walk-in trailer was acquired to hold all the chocolate. It was kept at a certain humidity to preserve and safe guard the chocolate. All chocolate was made with real ingredients.

Other real candy made for the film included: All the lollipops on the trees, the giant pink sugar canes, the giant humbugs and the red & white swirls of the sweeping tree were all real.

The Nut Room- Animal trainer Michael Alexander and his team spent 19 weeks training 40 squirrels for the squirrel room scene. The squirrels were trained to sit on stools while they opened nut shells and dropped the nuts onto a conveyor belt.

The Glass Boat used on the Chocolate River- Measuring 30 ft x 9 ft., the boat took 20 weeks to build. It was designed to float on the chocolate river and later put onto a track for the tunnel scene.

Fair to say, our warehouse has a little different feel…..

24 May 2005
Source: just-food.com

Confectioner Cadbury is launching a range of chocolate bars with under 99 calories.

They are a thinner version of the regular chocolate bars, ‘so you can have real Cadbury chocolate while keeping control of the calories,” Cadbury said.

There are three variants; Cadbury Dairy Milk, Cadbury Dairy Milk Mint Chips; and Bournville, an extra dark, 76% cocoa chocolate.

The range will be available at Woolworth’s, other leading stores and independents nationwide from June 2005….

The great modernist architect Mies Van Der Rohe once said, referring to modern architecture, “less is more” and another architect, Robert Venturi, years later said “less is a bore…”

It seems to me that with the launch of these new low calorie candy bars, they might be adhering to what Mies had to say…

Who knows, maybe their next move will be to launch a candy bar with zero calories that only has a wrapper…

According to Nestle’s, the prizes that can be found in the newly released Wonka Bars and Donutz are as follows:

Individual movie characters will be featured on wrappers and five grand prizes are linked to their traits or circumstances.

The winning Augustus Gloop wrapper, for instance, dangles a trip to Dusseldorf, Germany; the Charlie Bucket wrapper gives away $10,000; the Veruca Salt winner gets a shopping spree; the Violet Beauregarde prize is a fantasy sports camp trip; and the holder of the winning Mike Teevee wrapper goes to Hollywood to be digitized in a videogame.

I think I might opt for the Augustus Gloop or the Charlie Bucket but all the prizes seem unique!