COUNTYWIDE : Hospital to X-Ray Candy for Safety

Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura will X-ray Halloween candy for free to ensure its safety, but other hospitals in the county have discontinued the service.

Community Memorial, located at Brent Street and Loma Vista Road, will screen the candy for metallic objects from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday. Parents and children should come to the hospital’s Brent Street lobby, officials said.

Children must be accompanied by a parent or an adult, who must sign a consent form. Cookies and punch will be provided while the candy is being X-rayed.

Usually about 120 children bring goodies to the hospital for X-rays, but last year the number went up to 166.

“We didn’t find anything, and we’re happy about that,” said Suzanne Brockman, hospital director of marketing.

Other hospitals in the county have discontinued free X-rays, mainly because they give families a false sense of security about the candy’s safety, officials said.

Vicious pranksters have found ways to beat detection, said a spokeswoman for Simi Valley Hospital and Health Care Services. Instead of putting metal in the candy, they insert wood, glass or dangerous drugs, none of which can be detected with an X-ray.

Hospital officials recommend that parents inspect all treats for signs of tampering, including checking for damage to wrappers and examining fruits carefully for metal objects.

Items not in the original wrappers should be thrown away, officials said.

They also recommend that children not eat baked goods unless parents know the cook.

Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks canceled the X-ray service because few trick-or-treaters used it.

“The community interest was not there,” said spokeswoman Carol Keavney.