Florida recently tested 46 popular candies heavily marketed to children. The results were sobering: 28 of them contained elevated levels of arsenic, a known human carcinogen linked to increased risks of skin, bladder, lung, kidney, and liver cancer with repeated exposure over time. (study link in comments)
When I was researching the topic, I was amazed at the gaslighting, with some people saying “Well, there’s arsenic in apples too.”
But let’s be honest, that’s not a serious comparison.
The arsenic in apples is concentrated in the pips, and kids aren’t sitting down with a bag of apple seeds. That argument isn’t nuance…. it’s gaslighting yet again!
So the real question is:
Why are people so quick to defend this instead of asking why carcinogens are showing up in kids’ candy at all?
Curious to hear thoughts, especially on where the line should be drawn between “trace exposure” and avoidable risk.
I believe the manufacturers DO NOT CARE about the consumers health or safety, whether it be foods or pharmaceuticals. Further, I suspect the arsenic was purposely not removed. First it cost to remove it or would eliminate the cheapest source for the materials. Second, my quick research showed arsenic was added to food as a preservative in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Thus I propose, it helps with shelf life. Third, no one knew, and no agency was checking (until now). As a profit-focused utilitarian decision, manufacturers found arsenic beneficial and the product was cheaper to make.
Conclusion: ALL processed foods are** unsafe until proven safe, brand by brand, item by item.**
I must say I would have to agree with your statement. I just hope that more and more people start seeing what they are doing to the food and stop saying things like … “acceptable levels of…” and start voting with their wallets … that’s the only language that the big “food” manufacturers seem to understand.
Well that seems to be the truth. I am trying to make my own chocolate and any treats from scratch with just a few ingredients, and I love that my grandchildren love these too.
Why are people so quick to defend this instead of asking why carcinogens are showing up in kids’ candy at all?