White Rabbit (candy)

White Rabbit Creamy Candy(Chinese:大白兔奶糖;pinyin:Dàbáitù Nǎitáng) is a brand of milkcandymanufactured by Shanghai Guan Sheng Yuan Food, Ltd. (Chinese:上海冠生园食品有限公司;pinyin:Shànghǎi Guānshēngyuán Shípǐn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī), in China.It is an iconic cultural brand and has been in production since 1943. White Rabbit candy is part of the childhood memories of manymainlandersandHong Kongers, and has been featured in many classic Chinese movies and TV series.
White Rabbit candies are amilk-based white candy with a soft, chewy texture, sold as small, rectangular candies approximately 3 cm × 1 cm (1.18 in × 0.39 in) similar totaffy.
Each candy is wrapped in a thin edible paper-like wrapping made fromsticky rice.They are then wrapped in a printedwaxed paperwrapper. The rice wrapping layer is meant to be eaten along with the rest of the candy and can be found in the list of ingredients in the UK as "Edible Glutinous Rice Paper (edible starch,water, Glycerin Monostearate)" along with liquidmaltose, whitegranulated sugar, wholemilk powder,butter, food additives (gelatin,vanillin),corn starch,syrup,cane sugarandmilk. Each candy contains 20calories.
In addition to the originalvanillaflavour, new flavours such aschocolate,coffee,toffee,peanut,maize,coconut,lychee,strawberry,mango,durian,red bean,yogurt,matcha,wasabi, andfruithave been added. The butter-plum flavour, characteristic of China, was also among the new flavours added through the years.
White Rabbit candy originated in the ABC Candy Factory ofShanghaiin 1943, when amerchantfrom ABC tried a milkcandyfromEnglandand was impressed by its taste. After half a year of development, he then manufactured the factory's own brand of milk candies.
The first ABC milk candies were packaged using a redMickey Mousedrawing on the label, and were named ABC Mickey Mouse Sweets. As their prices were lower thanimported products, they became widely popular among the people.
In the 1950s, ABC becamestate-owned. Mickey Mouse was seen as a symbol of foreign countries, and so the packaging was redesigned to feature a naturalistically drawn whiterabbitand anartist's paint palette, with Chinese and English hand-lettering in a color scheme of red, blue and black against a white background. The result was a distinctive candylabeldesign. Thepackagingand brandlogohave changed over the years: when the candies were first marketed, the white rabbit on the outer packaging was lying down; however, this was changed to an image of the rabbit jumping. Currently, thetrade markanimal on the outer packaging has been given enormousneotenic, forward-facing eyes in the style ofDisneyorJapaneseanime, while the inner wrapping retains its classicart decolook and naturalistic rabbit.
Initially, production of the candies was capped at 800 kilograms (1,800 lb) per day, and the candies were manually produced. In 1959, these candies were given as gifts for the 10thNational DayofChina. In 1972, PremierZhou Enlaiused White Rabbit candies as a gift to American president,Richard Nixon, when he visited China.Today, White Rabbit candies are China's top brand of sweets.
White Rabbit sweets have been advertised with the slogan "Seven White Rabbit candies is equivalent to one cup of milk" and positioned as a nutritional product in addition to being a sweet, and experienced popularity amongst former students of the earlyDeng Xiaopingera in China (1978 to the early 1990s), who were reported to have taken this slogan literally and made 'hot milk' in their dormitory cooking rings by dissolving the candies in a pan of hot water.
Although the White Rabbit brand already had some history, its popularity worldwide has grown with the economy of China. Cities and agricultural villages' demands are increasing, especially during the Chinese New Year period, when many families provide White Rabbit sweets among other candies for visitors. In 2004, White Rabbit candy sales hit 600 millionyuan, with sales increasing by a double-digit percentage yearly.The candies are now exported to more than 40 countries and territories, including theUnited States,EuropeandSingapore.On December 2, 2017, Wong's Ice Cream ofToronto, Canadaunveiled the first ice cream flavour made from White Rabbit candy.
The White Rabbit brand was transferred to Guan Sheng Yuan (Group) Co., Ltd. in November 1997.The United States distributor of the candy is Queensway Foods, inMillbrae, California.
In July 2007, thePhilippineBureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) said that four imported foods made in China containedformalinand should be recalled. Those listed were White Rabbit Creamy Candy, Milk Candy, Balron Grape Biscuits, and Yong Kang Foods Grape Biscuits.The White Rabbit brand claimed that counterfeit candies, known to exist in the Philippines, may have been the cause of the contaminated sweets, citing an independent report by theShanghaiaffiliate of the Swiss-based SGS Group, the world's largest inspection and testing company, as saying that samples of candy ready to be exported overseas contained no toxic substances.InSingapore, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) also stated after conducting tests that the candy was safe for consumption.However, on July 24, 2007, the local Philippine distributor of White Rabbit bowed to the BFAD recall order. BFAD officials gave the distributor 15 days to implement the recall.
On July 24, 2007, theNational Agency of Drug and Food Control of Republic of Indonesiastated that 39 imported foods made in China, including White Rabbit Creamy Candy sold inJakarta, contained formaldehyde, and sealed them for destruction. It urged the public not to consume these products.On August 9, 2007, Indonesia stated that samples of White Rabbit candy sold inPalembangandMataramalso contained formaldehyde, and took similar actions.
In September 2008, there were more than 52,000 reported cases of children made sick bymelamine-tainteddairy productsin China. Most of the children were diagnosed with kidney problems. White Rabbit Creamy Candy was listed among the many milk-based food products made in China that werecontaminated with melamineand was removed from store shelves. The same form of contamination was responsible for the Chinese melaminepet food contamination scandalin 2007, during which thousands of petdogsandcatsdied ofkidney failureafter eatingpet foodthat contained melamine.
On September 24, 2008, the UK supermarket chainTescopulled all White Rabbit Candy from their shelves "as a precaution" in response to the melamine-contamination reports.The Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety issued an advisory on the product after it tested positive for melamine in their laboratories, with more than six times the legal limit for the chemical.Australiaissued a recall.TheAgri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singaporeissued a similar advisory,while also noting that although the level of melamine was high in the candy, it did not pose the same sort of danger that the contaminated infant formula did.
White Rabbit candies exported toNew Zealandwere also tested, and though melamine was found, as there had been no harm done yet they were unable to recall. Two reporters, using the Singaporean test results, calculated that "a 60kg adult [...] would have to eat more than 47 White Rabbit sweets [...] every day over a lifetime to exceed the tolerable threshold" for melamine.In September 2008, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection warned consumers not to eat "White Rabbit Creamy Candy" because tests by the Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station Laboratory determined that it contained melamine.In September 2008, United StatesFood and Drug Administrationwarned consumers about White Rabbit candy over concerns of possible melamine contamination, and the American distributor, Queensway Foods Inc., ordered a recall.Tests conducted inSouth Africaconfirmed similar results.
When White Rabbit candy returned to export in 2009, it also underwent a name change to Golden Rabbit Creamy Candy. Aside from avoiding the marketing stigma associated with the tarnished White Rabbit name, the Golden Rabbit candy is made using milk from Australia instead of China.  Original White Rabbit is also manufactured with milk from New Zealand.