As part of its Healthy Florida First Initiative, the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) conducted an analysis of dozens of popular candies, from SweeTarts to Laffy Taffy to Nerds. The results, published on January 26, showed that many gas station favorites contain varying levels of arsenic, a toxic heavy metal that can be dangerous to humans.
As part of their analysis, the FDOH analyzed 46 candies from 10 brands; 28 were found to contain arsenic. Nerds Gummy Clusters, for example, were shown to contain arsenic levels at 500 parts per billion (ppb).
Arsenic is a naturally-occurring element found in soil and water and present in many common foods, particularly rice, poultry, fruit juice, and seafood. According to the World Health Organization, people are regularly exposed to the metal through the things they consume. The Centers for Disease Control says that long-term exposure to high levels of arsenic can cause severe health conditions, like heart disease and cancer. However, the definition of an unsafe level depends on the type of food.
Although agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limit the amount of arsenic in public and bottled drinking water to 10 ppb, the FDA has no regulations that specify a safe level of arsenic for most foods, including candy.
Instead, the FDA evaluates and regulates arsenic in food on a case-by-case basis when levels are high enough to be deemed harmful.
Healthy Florida First is a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA)-aligned initiative started in 2026 by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The candy analysis has not been peer-reviewed, and in a press release, the FDOH indicated that the study findings aren’t definitive.
The National Confectioners Association (NCA), the leading lobbying group for American candymakers, criticized the analysis, calling it misguided. “The methodology used in this report relies on ‘screening benchmarks’ that do not align with current federal regulatory standards or recognized peer-reviewed science,” the NCA said in a statement. “By calculating risk based on hypothetical annual consumption levels, this report risks causing unnecessary consumer confusion.”
Speaking to The Daytona Beach News-Journal, an FDOH representative stated that the analysis was conducted using EPA standards for measuring arsenic in environmental samples, such as soil—not food.
Toxicologist Alex LeBeau urged caution when interpreting the results. LeBeau told Food Safety Magazine that the results were essentially uninterpretable, and that publishing them without scientific context was “alarmist reporting.”
The FDOH analysis also highlighted alternative candy options that did not contain a detectable amount of arsenic, including Black Forest Organic Gummy Bears and Annie’s Organic Bunny Fruit Flavored Snacks.
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