What's Really In Your Halloween Candy?

What Your Halloween Candy Ingredients Mean

We know going into October that Halloween is going to involve a lot of sugar, but what else is added to that sugar to create the different types of candy we all know and love (or hate, for the curmudgeonly among us)? If you listen to certain relatives on social media, Halloween candy is full of razor blades and illicit drugs (contaminated Halloween candy1 is an enduring yet bogus hoax) but the actual ingredients in our candies may not be a whole lot better.

I am, of course, joking, even though reading the ingredients on the back of a candy bar is a lot like reading a foreign language you studied for a year in high school. A lot of the words look vaguely familiar, but they don't form a coherent thought. Don't worry – we're in the same boat. In the interest of deciphering the hieroglyphics on the back of the package, we've collected some information to give you a better understanding of what Halloween candy ingredients actually mean.

What's in Halloween Candy?

Sugar

The boogeyman, enemy of the waistline, and the reason we get hyped up about Halloween, sugar is the first ingredient listed in almost all Halloween candies. The problem with sugar isn't the substance itself, but the quantity in which we consume it. Halloween usually only comes once a year (except that one full moon in 2012 when it repeated three times. Right? Anyone else remember that? Just me?), so most of us can make an exception to the rules of healthy eating and splurge on sugar for the holiday.

Sugar provides nothing of particular nutritional value, but when ingested in moderation, it's also unlikely to hurt you, unless you have other health problems (such as diabetes) that prevent your body from digesting it properly. The main danger of sugar is that it's an empty calorie, so it provides your body no nutritional benefit. High-sugar diets can lead to obesity, diabetes, and other health problems2. Because sugar happens to taste amazing, we're stuck finding a balance between enjoying life and not eating our weight in candy after Trick-or-Treating (or stocking up on half-off candy the day after).

High fructose corn syrup

A particularly sticky sticking point, high fructose corn syrup functions as another form of sugar3. Derived from corn subjected to acids and enzymes, corn syrup also has no nutritional value. There are some indications that high fructose corn syrup might be bad for you4 beyond simply being another source of sugar, but the chief danger, as far as we understand it now, is that it's an easy way for companies to pump up the sweetness of their product. Just like with sugar, empty calories don't satiate your hunger, but will be processed into either energy or fat regardless. The easiest way to determine the health impact of sugar and high fructose corn syrup is to look at the calorie count.

Dextrose

Another less-sweet type of sugar derived from corn, dextrose5 is used in addition to the above-listed sugars to help mitigate potentially unpleasant flavors or extend the shelf-life of the product. Again, it's not harmful except that it's a form of sugar, and sugar does our bodies no favors.

Citric Acid

Citric acid might sound like something a supervillain uses to dissolve NYC, but it really just makes candy taste sour. Citric acid is naturally found in citrus fruits, such as lemons and limes, and is responsible for their mouth-puckering sourness. Confectioners use it to add a bit of tangy zest to their candy. For once, an ingredient that doesn't have anything worrisome about it! Actually, it might be a little too wholesome… what are you hiding, citric acid?

Lac-resin

Part of confectioner's glaze, lac-resin is made of the secretions of insect larvae. Totally safe for human consumption, but maybe avoid candy corn if you don't want to eat bug pulp.

Gelatin & Gum Base

Gelatin makes candy squishy and gives it a satisfying chew, but is also made from animal hide and bone. Again, perfectly safe, but vegans should avoid any product with gelatin listed as an ingredient. Gum base, on the other hand, provides a similar chewy texture and is used in making chewing gum and other gummy candies. Gum base is derived from trees, instead of animals, so if you have dietary restrictions, consult the manufacturer of the individual candy you're interested in to make sure it meets all your needs.

Dyes

Only candy aficionados such as myself can tell at a glance which is a yellow 6 and which is a pedestrian yellow 5, but if consuming any artificial food dye concerns you, you should know that the science on this topic is mixed. Many small studies have found links between common dyes and hyperactivity in children or other undesirable effects. Some people fear that food dyes might cause cancer6, but the science does not support this worry. The most prominent harmful effect found with food dyes is allergic reaction. Unexplained hives or other symptoms can be triggered by food dyes, and those dealing with unknown allergies can cut artificial dyes from their diet to see if that might be the cause.

In general, dyes are used in highly processed food, meaning they are a signal of unhealthy food, but they are usually fine to ingest unless you have a specific allergy. Again, we know that Halloween isn't going to be part of a balanced breakfast, but food dyes are rarely the center of the problem.

Preservatives & Emulsifiers

Most of the really technical-sounding ingredients in candy are used to produce a desired texture and keep the candy from spoiling. Preservatives, obviously, are going to be used to preserve the food against going bad, while emulsifiers help keep the candy from forming crystals, drying out, and clumping up.

Salt

Ok, maybe it's not the most technical ingredient out there. Salt preserves food and keeps it from rotting, which is great for companies that prefer their products stay good long enough to be sold. Like everything else that tastes good, too much salt is bad for us. You should limit your intake to control blood pressure and maintain heart health – but the amount of salt found in most sweet candies is small compared to how much we get in other parts of our day. For the average person, the salt contained in these is less dangerous than the sugar, but if your doctor has told you to avoid excess sodium, I'm afraid even Halloween candy isn't safe.

Other preservatives and emulsifiers

Rather than give you an in-depth breakdown of each chemical ingredient, we're going to just list which Halloween candy ingredients7 are which, so you can impress your friends with your knowledge of what's in Halloween candy. That impresses people, right?

  • Preservatives
  • Butylated hydroxyanisole (or BHA): Keeps fats and oils from going rancid.
  • Potassium sorbate: Preservative derived from sorbic acid that keeps food safe to eat longer.
  • Tertiary butyl hydroquinone: A mouthful, but also a preservative8.
  • Emulsifiers
  • Glycerol monostearate: Emulsifier in candies such as licorice.
  • Invertase: Keeps sugar from forming crystals.
  • Lecithin: Soy-based emulsifier that creates smooth texture in chocolate.
  • Magnesium stearate: Used in sugarless gum, mints, and pressed candies for texture.
  • Maltodextrin: Cornstarch derivative that bulks up a product and prevents sugar from crystallizing.
  • Modified food starch: Derived from natural ingredients, food starch thickens and stabilizes candy.
  • Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (or PGPR): Blends ingredients for smooth chocolate.

So, What is Candy Made Of?

Sugar. The main ingredient for almost all popular Halloween candy (you can get your spicy nonsense out of here, Red Hots) is sugar in one form or another. Different combinations of sugars, chocolate, acids, and dyes differentiate one candy from another, and each candy will have ingredients designed to preserve the product and produce the correct texture. Dyes are incorporated to draw your eye to the candy, while other ingredients such as gum base provide chewiness and insolubility.

Do You Need to be Worried?

In general, no. The Food and Drug Administration bans substances that are found to be harmful, so dangerous substances are not allowed to be used in producing Halloween candy. If your neighbor is giving out homemade treats, you'll have to judge how much you trust their cooking – or ask them to do a blog about the ingredients they used. While we can't tell you exactly how cautious to be on Halloween, or how much candy you should eat – well, we can, you should probably eat zero candy, but then why even bother? – hopefully you can now at least identify some of the mystery ingredients on the back of that chocolate bar.

Resources

  1. The myth of poisoned Halloween candy. Vox. Accessed October 2019.
  2. 5 reasons why sugar is bad for you. Medical News Today. Accessed October 2019.
  3. Halloween candy deconstructed: Ingredients of a few popular Halloween candies. Science Daily. Accessed October 2019.
  4. Still Spooked by High-Fructose Corn Syrup. The New York Times. Accessed October 2019.
  5. Everything you need to know about dextrose. Medical News Today. Accessed October 2019.
  6. Food Dyes: Harmless or Harmful? Healthline. Accessed October 2019.
  7. Common Food Additives in Candy. University of Hawaii at Manoa. Accessed October 2019.
  8. The Potential Dangers of TBHQ Healthline. Accessed August 2023.