While we seriously doubt that any children were harmed by taking a couple of over-the-counter diet mints, we question whether the camp’s director, who supplied the mints, is suited for his position.

The incident started innocently enough when a teenage camper in the L/A Arts Summer Youth Theatre program passed around a tin of Slim Mints to other campers, who range in age from 9 to 16.

The candies are sold as “diet mints,” and they contain green tea and two supplements purported to suppress appetite and lead to weight loss.

One 9-year-old girl went home after camp and told her parents she had been given a diet mint. The parents then went to the camp to find out exactly what their daughter had taken and to express their displeasure.

The incident was brought to the attention of camp staff, who argued that the mints were simply candies and posed no danger to the children.

The minor blowup could have and should have ended there.

However, L/A Arts Executive Director Andrew Harris talked to the campers later that morning and found that some of the children were worried that they had eaten something dangerous.

So, he went to the Slim Mints Web site, found no warning, then purchased a tin of the mints at Wal-Mart where, he says, he was told by a pharmacist that they posed no danger to children.

However, if Harris had done a bit more Web research, he might have found some of the warnings about the active ingredient in Slim Mints, chromium picolinate. This cautionary statement is from a University of California medical Web site:

“There have been safety concerns about chromium picolinate… since laboratory studies have found that it could damage genetic material in animal cells, which suggests it might cause cancer. It seems to be the combination of chromium and picolinate that’s the potential problem…”

So, the parents’ concern was not without foundation.

After buying the mints, Harris proceeded to distribute them to the children, he says to reassure them that they were not dangerous. This despite the fact that the tin for the mints contains a clear warning: “Not intended for use by persons under 18 years of age.”

Harris could have reassured the campers in many ways. He could have even taken the opportunity to question why girls that age are taking weight loss products. He could have told them that foods like carrots, potatoes, broccoli and whole-grain foods provide all the chromium a body needs.

Instead, he deliberately defied the requests of one set of parents and supplied the questionable diet mints to the children.

Either he was being reckless and foolish or, more likely, he was trying to show the children that the parents were being overbearing and foolish.

Either way, the incident leads us to question whether Harris has the temperament to deal with parents or supervise kids.

This is a worrisome incident, particularly since L/A Arts has shifted its mission toward educational programs for young people.

The board of L/A Arts should examine the circumstances surrounding this incident and determine whether Harris is the right person for the job.