White Rabbit (candy) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids White Rabbit |
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A tin of White Rabbit Creamy Candy
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| Chinese | 大白兔奶糖 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | "big white rabbit milk candy" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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White Rabbit Creamy Candy (Chinese: 大白兔奶糖; pinyin: Dàbáitù Nǎitáng) is a very famous milk candy from China. It is made by a company called Shanghai Guan Sheng Yuan Food, Ltd. This candy is a well-known cultural brand and has been made since 1943.
Many people in China and Hong Kong remember White Rabbit candy from their childhood. It has even appeared in many classic Chinese movies and TV shows. The company has kept White Rabbit Creamy Candy popular for many generations. They did this by changing their product and business to fit new needs. They also worked hard to keep their customers happy. The candy's popularity grew by working with other products and opening special stores. Even when there were challenges, the candy was able to become popular again.
Contents
What's in White Rabbit Candy?
White Rabbit candies are white and made mostly from milk. They are soft and chewy, a bit like vanilla caramel. Each candy is a small cylinder, about 3 centimeters long and 1 centimeter wide. They are similar to taffy.
Each candy has two wrappers. The inner wrapper is a thin, edible paper made from sticky rice. You can eat this wrapper along with the candy! The outer wrapper is made of printed waxed paper. The edible rice wrapper is made from starch, water, and a special ingredient called Glycerin Monostearate. Other ingredients in the candy include liquid maltose, white granulated sugar, whole milk powder, butter, and food additives like gelatin and vanillin. Each candy has about 20 calories.
Many Delicious Flavors
While the original flavor is vanilla, White Rabbit candy now comes in many exciting flavors. Some of these include chocolate, coffee, toffee, peanut, maize, and coconut. You can also find fruit flavors like lychee, strawberry, mango, and durian. Other unique flavors are red bean, yogurt, matcha, and tiramisu. There's even a special butter-plum flavor, which is very popular in China.
The Story of White Rabbit Candy
White Rabbit candy started in Shanghai, China, in 1943. It began at the ABC Candy Factory. A person from the factory tried a milk candy from England and really liked it. After six months of work, the factory created its own milk candy.
The first candies from ABC were called ABC Mickey Mouse Sweets. They had a red Mickey Mouse picture on the label. These candies were cheaper than imported ones, so many people bought them.
A New Look for the Rabbit
In the 1950s, the ABC factory became owned by the government. The Mickey Mouse picture was seen as a symbol of other countries. So, the packaging was changed. The new design featured a realistic white rabbit and an artist's paint palette. The colors were red, blue, and black on a white background. This new design became very famous. Over the years, the packaging and logo have changed a bit. At first, the rabbit on the outside wrapper was lying down. Later, it was changed to a jumping rabbit. Today, the rabbit on the outer wrapper has big, friendly eyes, like a Disney character. However, the inner candy wrapper still has the classic, more realistic rabbit design.
Gifts and Global Popularity
When it first started, the factory could only make about 800 kilograms of candy each day. The candies were made by hand. In 1959, White Rabbit candies were given as special gifts for China's 10th National Day. In 1972, Premier Zhou Enlai gave White Rabbit candies as a gift to the US president, Richard Nixon, when he visited China. Today, White Rabbit candies are one of China's most popular sweets.
White Rabbit sweets were advertised with a slogan: "Seven White Rabbit candies is equivalent to one cup of milk." This made people think the candy was also good for them. Many students in China in the late 1970s and 1980s took this slogan seriously. They would dissolve the candies in hot water to make "hot milk" in their dorms!
The candy's popularity has grown around the world as China's economy has grown. More and more people, both in cities and in the countryside, want the candy. It's especially popular during Chinese New Year, when many families offer White Rabbit sweets to visitors. In 2004, White Rabbit candy sales reached 600 million yuan. Sales kept growing by a lot each year. Now, the candies are sold in over 40 countries, including the United States, Europe, and Singapore. In December 2017, Wong's Ice Cream in Toronto, Canada, even made an ice cream flavor using White Rabbit candy.
The White Rabbit brand was moved to Guan Sheng Yuan (Group) Co., Ltd. in November 1997. The company that sells the candy in the United States is Queensway Foods, located in Millbrae, California.
Ensuring Candy Safety
Over the years, like many food products, White Rabbit candy has faced challenges regarding its safety. When concerns about ingredients arose, the company and food safety groups worked to address them.
Safety Checks and Recalls
In July 2007, some food safety groups in the Philippines and Indonesia said that certain imported foods from China, including White Rabbit Creamy Candy, had ingredients that shouldn't be there. As a result, these candies were taken off store shelves. The White Rabbit brand said that fake candies might have caused the problem. They showed reports that their real candies, ready to be sent overseas, were safe. In Singapore, tests also showed the candy was safe to eat. However, the local distributor in the Philippines still followed the recall order.
In September 2008, there were more reports of milk products in China having a substance called melamine. This caused health problems for many children. White Rabbit Creamy Candy was among the products that were checked and recalled from stores. This was a serious issue, and many countries took action to ensure safety.
Countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore issued warnings or recalled the candy from their stores. They wanted to make sure everyone was safe. In New Zealand, tests also found the substance, but it was in very small amounts. Experts calculated that an adult would have to eat a huge amount of candy every day for a long time for it to be a problem. The United States Food and Drug Administration also warned consumers, and the American distributor recalled the candy. Similar tests in South Africa confirmed these findings. These actions showed how important it is to check food products carefully to keep people safe.
Golden Rabbit Candy
When White Rabbit candy started being exported again in 2009, it sometimes had a new name: Golden Rabbit Creamy Candy. This helped to avoid any confusion from past safety concerns. Also, Golden Rabbit candy is made using milk from Australia, while the original White Rabbit Creamy Candy uses milk from New Zealand.
See also
In Spanish: White Rabbit (golosina) para niños
- Orange jelly candy
- Dragon's beard candy
- Deuk Deuk Tong
- Krówki
- Botan Rice Candy
- Wanderlust Creamery, an American ice cream chain that became famous for making a White Rabbit Creamy Candy-flavoured ice cream
