Port Coquitlam dad finds metal in child’s Halloween candy, warns others
Posted October 30, 2023 7:40 am.
Last Updated October 30, 2023 7:02 pm.
Just one day before Halloween, a Port Coquitlam father of two is telling parents to check their children’s Halloween candy after his daughter nearly choked on a piece of metal while eating a sucker.
In mid-September, Scott Leathem and his family popped into the Dollarama in Pitt Meadows where he bought some suckers for his kids. While sitting in the backseat, his nine-year-old stopped eating after something scratched and pricked her tongue.
“It almost looks like a staple — the metal is rusty. Almost like a barbecue brush bristle. That’s what I think it is.”
Leathem turned the car around to speak to the store manager. He adds not much came from that conversation.
He reported it to the company, which responded with an offer for a gift card.
Part of an email exchange between Dollarama and Leathem, shared with CityNews, says it was once off.
“We can confirm that the event you reported to us with regards to the Halloween Candy Bouquet was an isolated incident. Our investigation is therefore closed. Should you wish to accept our $10.00 Dollarama gift card offer, please provide a mailing address as required by the shipping company by no later than Monday, October 23, 2023, at 5:00 p.m.”
Leathem says he didn’t, and doesn’t, want the money, rather, he wants the company to be held accountable and address his concerns.
“I don’t need an apology, I don’t think this was malicious. I’m not looking for any kind of kickback. What I was looking for, was for the store to take some responsibility. I don’t think they really looked into it. I think it was blown off and that’s what bothers me.”
He says earlier this month, he went to the Port Coquitlam location and was upset to see the candy was still on store shelves. He believes it should be removed nationwide.
“They should be until it’s investigated properly and they know for certain there aren’t other suckers out there, kids are going to have already received and probably will receive [it tomorrow] — if you get one of those in you and you don’t even know until it’s halfway through and you need surgery.”
Leathem says right now his kids aren’t consuming any other candy from the store.
“We had another package that we had bought that we held onto. We’ve not opened up any more pieces. My kids are currently not allowed to eat them. We haven’t checked them out.”
He also wants to give all parents and anyone handing out candy from Dollarama to be aware.
“You trust the store and you can’t check the candy, so what I would tell other parents is if you come across a situation like this, you make sure you hold the store accountable.”
Leathem says he’s upset hasn’t been back to the store, but admits it’s difficult to beat the retailer’s price point.
In a statement to CityNews, Dollarama says it’s committed to providing safe, quality products and says this was an isolated incident.
“[Dollarama] only does business with manufacturers that meet the requirements of Canadian regulations as well as our own quality standards. Customer-reported incidents regarding products are systematically investigated and this case was no exception.
“This was investigated by the quality control and compliance department as well as the product manufacturer immediately after being reported to us.”
