Second pin found inside Halloween candy in Halifax area

CTV Atlantic: Another pin found in candy bar Halifax District RCMP are investigating a possible case of food tampering after a second sewing pin was found inside a candy bar.

Halifax District RCMP are investigating a possible case of food tampering after a second sewing pin was found inside a candy bar collected in a Cole Harbour neighbourhood.

Emily Fleming was at school when she bit into the Coffee Crisp bar Monday morning.

“I felt it on my teeth and I pulled it out quickly and then I freaked out and I ran and told my teacher,” says Fleming, a student at Astral Drive Junior High School. “I was scared and shocked that someone would put that in there.”

Fleming brought the bar, the wrapper and pin to the school administration, who then reported the incident to police.

Fleming received the chocolate bar while she was trick-or-treating in Cole Harbour Friday evening. It is the second pin to be found in candy collected in the same area.

Another teen found a one-inch sewing pin in a Wunderbar after she broke it in half on Sunday.

Both teens had been trick-or-treating in the area of Astral Drive, Stratford Drive and Colby South.

Neither girl was injured, but the incident has parents concerned.

“The reality is, people are putting things in candy cars, which is completely ridiculous,” says Emily’s father, Geoff Fleming. “I can’t even imagine what the motivation is behind that.”

Police are treating both incidents as cases of food tampering. Officers are going door-to-door in the area in order to determine where the candy came from.

“So there is a trend, or could be a trend developing, which is something our investigators will certainly look at,” says RCMP Const. Mark Skinner. “There is a lot to be done in regards to an investigation like this.”

Parents in the area say they will be checking their children’s candy after hearing of the incidents.

“I think it is scary,” says parent Melissa Graham. “The kids are so excited to go out for Halloween and now we have to be concerned about needles and things in the chocolates. It is crazy.”

“It is surprising that it has been in this area because everybody seems to watch out for everybody and take care of everybody, so it is shocking,” says resident Colleen Appleton.

Fleming’s parents have sorted through the rest of her candy and say they haven’t found any more pins.

Police are urging anyone who finds a foreign object in their candy to come forward as it could help further their investigation.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Kelland Sundahl