Governor’s wife dubbed ‘Lady Pulparindo’ after candy bar gaffe

Jalisco’s First Lady, Lorena Arriaga, who heads the state Family Development Agency (DIF), was ridiculed on social networks this week for delivering unhealthy candy bars to impoverished indigenous children instead of nutritious food supplies.

The wife of Governor Aristoteles Sandoval, Arriaga was dubbed “Lady Pulparindo” after the DIF posted an image of her handing out Pulparindo bars to kids at a soup kitchen in San Andres Cohamiata, one of the most poverty-stricken villages in Jalisco, as part of the federal government’s national Crusade Against Hunger.

The photograph was quickly removed from the DIF’s Facebook page but it proved too late and the image soon went viral under the hashtag #LadyPulparindo, with thousands of Mexicans mocking Arriaga for her blunder.

In July 2007, the El Paso, Texas branch of the U.S. Department of Health issued a warning against the consumption of Pulparindo bars. The spicy, tamarind flavored candy was found to contain lead, which puts the health of children and pregnant women at risk.

Tests showed each bar contained from 0.12 to 0.19 parts per million of lead, exceeding the permitted amount. The department asked distributors to withdraw the product from the U.S. market and to notify existing clients to no longer sell the candy.