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Consumers should avoid a lollipop imported from Mexico and found to contain a high level of lead in its wrapper, the Food and Drug Administration said. 

The lollipop is a dark brown tamarind candy bearing the brand “Bolirindo” and sold mostly in California and in some Southwestern states, the FDA said Thursday. 

Routine testing of children by the California Department of Health Services found three cases in which 2-year-olds who had the candy developed elevated levels of lead. The finding prompted state health authorities and the FDA to analyze the lollipop for lead contamination. 

“Preliminary findings indicate that at least the lollipop wrapper’s exterior may have exceedingly high concentrations of lead,” about 21,000 parts per million, the FDA said in a statement. 

The FDA urged that the lollipop not be consumed and that it be kept from children. 

“Eating the lollipops may expose (children) to dangerously high levels of lead, especially if the candy becomes damp or if the wrapper is chewed or eaten,” the statement said. 

The agency urged that children who may have eaten such lollipops be checked for lead exposure. 

The lollipop is a soft, dark brown tamarind fruit candy on a white or orange stick, wrapped in an orange-red wrapper with the word “Bolirindo” in white letters and a picture of a tamarind fruit.