Compare candy & gummies

Research · Candy & gummies

What our research found about candy & gummies

Candy and gummies differ in sweetener and color. Conventional gummies use sugar, corn syrup and often synthetic dyes; “better” candies are colored with fruit and vegetable juices and use cane sugar, tapioca syrup or non-sugar sweeteners and fibers. The FDA has announced it is revoking authorization for the dye Red No. 3, with food makers given until January 2027 to reformulate, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest keeps a dye guide for shoppers who want to avoid synthetic colors.

Low-sugar gummies often use soluble fibers and sugar alcohols such as maltitol or allulose, which can cause digestive upset in some people when eaten in quantity. Compare per-serving sugar, the sweeteners listed and the color source, and keep in mind that candy serving sizes are small.

Products

384 brands

Full labels recorded

1026% of the shelf

Maker says organic

7maker’s claim

List an added sweetener

9of 10 labels

List a seed oil

0of 10 labels

Typical label length

8ingredients (median)

Counts use complete, current ingredient labels only. Records without a published label stay unknown and are never counted as clean.

What to compare

• Color source. Fruit and vegetable juice, spirulina or annatto versus synthetic dyes such as Red 40 or Yellow 5.
• Sugar and sweeteners. Cane sugar, tapioca syrup, allulose, stevia and sugar alcohols all appear.
• Serving size. Compare sugar per serving rather than per bag.
• Allergens. Check for milk, nuts and gelatin or pectin sources.

References

1. FDA to revoke authorization for Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs U.S. Food and Drug Administration
2. Color additives: questions and answers for consumers U.S. Food and Drug Administration
3. Food dyes Center for Science in the Public Interest
4. Aspartame and other sweeteners in food U.S. Food and Drug Administration
5. Added sugars on the Nutrition Facts label U.S. Food and Drug Administration