"If you haven't yet bought candy for Valentine's Day, you might want to hold off. The Florida Department of Health has announced that certain candies tested as part of the state's new Healthy Florida First initiative were determined to have elevated levels of heavy metals. Forty-six types of candies from 10 different well-known brands were determined to have higher-than-safe levels of mercury, arsenic, cadmium, or lead."
"Testing from Healthy Flordia First shared to the Exposing Food Toxins website revealed that a potentially toxic level of arsenic was present in 28 popular varieties of Valentine's Day candies, including 3 Musketeers, Black Forest Gummy Bears, Dots, Hershey's Cookies 'N' Creme, Jolly Rancher, Kit Kat, Laffy Taffy, Nerds, Skittles, Smart Sweets, Snickers, Sour Patch Kids, Swedish Fish, SweeTarts, Tootsie Roll, Twizzlers, and Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers."
"According to parameters outlined by Healthy Florida First, eating more than one piece of any of the affected candies could result in toxic arsenic exposure in children and adults. Symptoms of arsenic exposure include sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle cramps or weakness, and skin irritation. Long-term risks of exposure include cancer, liver or kidney damage, a decrease in red or white blood cell production, infection, and death."
Forty-six candy varieties across ten well-known brands contained higher-than-safe levels of heavy metals, including mercury, arsenic, cadmium, or lead. Twenty-eight popular Valentine's Day candies showed potentially toxic arsenic levels. The tested candies were purchased online and in Florida stores; out-of-state representation is unclear, but similar contamination may exist in the same brands. Eating more than one piece of affected candy could cause toxic arsenic exposure in children and adults. Short-term symptoms include sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle cramps or weakness, and skin irritation. Long-term risks include cancer, organ damage, blood cell decreases, infection, and death. No recalls have been issued; consumers are advised to dispose of affected candies and monitor for symptoms.
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