Administration cites testing conducted by Florida Department of Health.
Candy for Valentine’s Day?
Maybe not.
The administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday that it had tested 46 types of candy and that more than 60% of them (28) contained elevated arsenic levels that, consumed over time, could put children at an increased risk of cancer.
This is the second announcement this month the DeSantis administration has made about its testing efforts and the results being posted on the Healthy Florida First website. The governor and First Lady Casey DeSantis announced Florida had tested 24 infant formulas and found that 16 contained heavy metals or chemicals.
Those efforts followed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s, directive to the federal Food and Drug Administration to look at ingredients used in infant formula. Before he joined the administration of President Donald Trump, Kennedy promised to look at whether there were toxic metals in infant formula.
Although the DeSantis administration purports that 28 candies showed high levels of arsenic, the first lady stressed that not all test results were bad. For instance, she said none of the candy the state tested showed elevated levels of lead, mercury, cadmium, or “other problematic carcinogens.”
Some of the candies with arsenic included: (The full list from the state listed at the bottom of this story)
- SweeTarts Original
- Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers
- Jolly Rancher Hard Candy Sour Apple and Strawberry
- Twizzlers
- Sour Patch Kids
- Tootsie Roll and Tootsie Fruit Chew
She also highlighted the candy that didn’t contain higher levels of arsenic, including Hershey Milk Chocolate Bar, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Whoppers, M&M’s, Twix, and Milky Way.
“Our goal really has been, as the governor has articulated, to support the federal [Make America Healthy Again] movement by working as force multipliers, to be able to drive accountability through testing,” she said Monday during a press conference at The Villages.
“The [Food and Drug Administration] primarily works as a reactionary force, stepping in after problems are identified, and while that role is very important, Florida is really working to change the system by supporting the FDA to not only continue to get in front of these problems by testing, but also by leading a coalition of states to trust but verify the integrity of our food supply.”