FOSTORIA, Ohio — After sewing needles reportedly were found inside two pieces of trick or treat candy, Fostoria police say parents can bring candy obtained during the city's trick or treat to Fostoria Community Hospital today for X-ray scans.
"Although we only are aware of two pieces of candy being involved, we take this seriously and are appalled that anyone would be so demented as to want to hurt children in our community," said Chief Keith Loreno.
Both pieces of candy reportedly had sewing needles inside. Police said at this time, the specific street where the candy was distributed is unknown.
Police said they and ProMedica Fostoria Community Hospital "feel that it is best to take every reasonable action possible to keep our children safe and to help parents make an informed decision with any candy their children received."
On Monday, parents can take candy received during the trick or treat in Fostoria to the hospital to be X-rayed for any potential metal objects.
The ONLY times that this will be performed are from:
- 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
- 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Interested parties should go to the main entrance but are asked to not enter the hospital. Hospital staff will have a portable X-ray machine available to scan the candy.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, visitors are asked to follow all necessary safety restrictions on the hospital grounds and follow the instructions of the staff upon arrival.
If anyone has any information as to who may be involved with the tampered candy, you are asked to immediately call Fostoria police at 419-435-8573.
Generally, legitimate reports of contaminated Halloween candy are not common. Our VERIFY team recently reported on the issue here.
The National Confectioners Association started a Halloween Candy Hotline in 1982 for police and poison control centers to report contaminated candy in the U.S. In an online article published in 2013, former NCA spokesperson Susan Smith told ABC News the organization shut down the hotline in 2012 because “tampering is extremely rare, and we don't even track it anymore because police just aren't seeing it.” A current NCA spokesperson also confirmed with VERIFY they no longer run the hotline due to this reason.
“We don’t do any research on this, but we anecdotally agree that these are typically isolated, rare, false reports and/or hoaxes,” the spokesperson said in an email.