THE VILLAGES, Fla. (WFLA) — Testing by the Florida Department of Health found “elevated” levels of arsenic in dozens of candy products, officials said Monday.
Out of 46 products from 10 companies, 28 had the “elevated” levels of arsenic, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced in a news conference.
The officials pointed to one example which revealed that more than six Jolly Ranchers hard candies exceeds the annual safe arsenic consumption limit for children. The FDOH found that more than 96 pieces of Nerds candy exceeds the amount of arsenic a child can safely consume in a year.
“Food is an essential part of life, and we need it to be as safe and nutritious as possible,” Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo said in a statement. “We believe that evaluating risks and communicating our findings to the public are essentially steps for driving the change we seek in the food industry and improving the health of Floridians.”
To see if your favorite candy contains arsenic, visit the state’s Exposing Food Toxins website.
This comes after FDOH testing revealed toxins in some baby formula brands earlier this month.
The recent push to test for toxins in popular products is part of the state’s response to the “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, titled “Healthy Florida First.”
