The click-bait article I read this morning was from Refinery29 (via Yahoo "News"). It is titled "What’s in Halloween Candy? You Probably Don’t Want to Know". What made me click? In the lead, it said "a primary ingredient in candy corn is dextrose, which is an additive that gives tobacco a longer shelf life".
Having been through basic chemistry, I know that most molecules have more than one name. Their chemical name and their "street" name. Sugar has 3 names - sugar, glucose, and dextrose.
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| Please note that it says "the predominant naturally occurring form" |
You know what else has multiple names? All of our vitamins. Ascorbic acid gets the finger pointed at it as an antioxidant and preservative - but it's little old vitamin C. Why wouldn't I want to know that that's in my candy? The Refinery29 article points out all of the industrial uses for these typical food additives, trying to instill the fear in us.
This method is completely bonkers. If you want to instill the fear in us, tell us about how added sugars are increasing our nation's waistlines and type 2 diabetes diagnoses. At least that statement isn't misleading. Is it too scary, even for Halloween season? Maybe.
Fear-mongering is nothing new. One of my favorite pranks was posting this website on my Facebook a few years ago: Facts about Dihydrogen Monoxide. I got comments from a few people legitimately concerned about this conspiracy theory.
If something is not in your wheelhouse and it's freaking you out, ask an expert in the field. If they're scared, you can be, too. Until then, keep your wits about you and lead a normal life.
Kate Fossman, RDN, LD
October 29, 2015
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