Pelón Pelo Rico is a popular tamarind-flavored candy made under the Lorena brand by the Hershey Company in Jalisco, Mexico. It comes in regular, sour lime, and extra spicy flavors. Ingredients include sugar, water, glucose, chili powder, citric acid, xanthan gum, and tamarind extract.
The treat's name loosely translates in English to "Delicious Hair Bald", because the candy is squeezed out of a tube through a grate, producing a Medusa-like effect.
Pelón Pelo Rico is inexpensive, being sold for approximately US$0.50 at corner stores, and is commonly found in Mexican-owned stores and markets.
Pelón Pelo Rico has been implicated in the ongoing controversy in the United States surrounding unhealthy levels of lead in imported candies.[1] It has tested high for lead in nearly 20 percent of government tests between 1994 and 2004.[2][3] It has also been suspected in a number of lead poisoning cases.
As of July 2008, this and other similar Mexican candies are safe to eat.[4]
It is enjoyed both in Mexico and the U.S.
In 2005, NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick ran a Pelón Pelo Rico car in the Telcel-Motorola México 200.