Candy: You Can Change!
Introduction
“[There] are changes the food industry should be excited about — because the alternative is banning ingredients, carding for candy, and a sugar prohibition.” says Crystal Lindell, a journalist with a master's degree in public affairs reporting. Lindell is truly right, as she tells us that candy must undergo some vital changes, or events will happen that will not only affect the food industry, but also the public. Though some would argue that this is not the case; that candy should be banned forever, as the “bad qualities outweigh the good ones.” Others say that “candy is great just the way it is.” This expert says that both of these ideas are definitely not the case. To say the truth, actions need to be taken to make candy a tad more nutritional. Not only that, but, according to Joseph Mercola, a famous physician and author of mercola.com,”Today, an average American consumes about 22 teaspoons of sugar per day, which amounts to 77 pounds of sugar per year.” That is definitely too much sugar! Additionally, sugar is not the only health drawback that candies contain. The evidence speaks for itself: between the classics of the confectionary world, to the dyes chipping away at your health, Hershey’s and Mars companies should not only keep their candies forever, but also make some major changes to the benefit of the people.
Classic Confectioneries
Have you ever heard of M&M’s? Twix? Twizzlers? My guess is that: who has not? Critics argue that most candy should be discontinued because of many reasons; mostly revolving around health. While this might be true, still, all in all, people love candy! In fact, to quote statista.com, “On the U.S. market, confectionery sales amounted to nearly 35 billion U.S. dollars in 2014 and are expected to reach 38.9 billion U.S. dollars by 2019.” As you can see, candy sales are growing quickly each year, and are increasingly expected to do so in the future. Think about the last time you went or heard about NYC. Did you think of M&M’s World? M&M’s are just one of the candies manufactured by Hershey’s. This place is not only positioned in The Big Apple, but also Las Vegas, Shanghai, Orlando, Henderson, and London. In other words, M&M’s World is pretty good in business. The Las Vegas location received eight million visitors in 2007. That is a lot of people! Before it opened in 2006, nearly 13,000 people lined up for the 198 jobs, in the New York City location. M&M’s are so popular, important to the economy, and other reasons, that nobody (hopefully) is ever going to discontinue M&M’s. Anyways, did you know that it is possible to customize and order your very own M&M, at home? This is possible at https://www.mymms.com/home.do. This again proves the fact that M&M’s are so classic that nobody, I repeat, nobody is going to take away this bite-sized treat from the people. Although candy is so well-known and loved by the whole world, there are clearly many changes that need to happen to these delectable treats, and the benefit will mostly go to the public’s health.
There Goes My Allergies!
One bite of a nut, and someone breaks out in hives! One intention to change some qualities of the candies is that not all candies are allergen-free. For example, as many as 15 million people have food allergies in the whole world, or, in other words, allergies are a growing health concern The most common food allergies are milk, egg, wheat/gluten, soy, and nuts, which all are ingredients can be found in most candies, or the candies can be made in a factory with them. This proves that kids (and adults!) with allergies can not eat most candies, which limits, unfairly. Being allergic to dairy products is most common in little children. Candy normally has milk in it! This shows that Hershey’s, Mars, and other confectionery makers should make a type of candy for each kind of candy, for example, there should be a type of Hershey bar that includes no milk; to replace that, soy lecithin, or something else. Have you ever seen a label on a food product that stated: Made in a factory containing nuts, soy, etc. The importance of this is that even if the candy has nothing to do with nuts, or another allergen ingredient, it still can be harmful, as it may have traces of the ingredient. Some people disagree, saying that it is not necessary to think about people with allergies, as few people do. However, this point can be challenged. It is difficult to estimate how many people die each year from allergic-reactions, but recently, Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) stated that approximately 200 people die from these internal and external attacks. As you can see, allergies are a very important matter to think about.
Are Dyes All That Necessary?
Sadly, even with the popularity of all appetizing treats, every candy has its downside. Take a look at the M&M label below (note that M&M’s come in all different colors, meaning that a red candy would use Red dye 40 and Lake, and so on) 
Most people know that M&M’s are not the healthiest food on Earth, but regard all the different types of dyes! It is possible to use organic ingredients to create colors for something, with no added tastes! Red dye 40, just one of the harmful dyes on the label shown above, can cause hypersensitivity in some, swelling around the mouth, hives, and more. Additionally, in undeveloped countries, people use lead chromate to create yellow food coloring, to reduce the cost of production. Lead chromate is a carcinogen, that can cause cancer, along with other health defects. According to networx.com, “In general you can expect a paler, more pastel-type of result.” This means that natural color will not be as rich as using artificial dye. Maybe that is why manufacturers, such as Mars and Hershey’s decide to use harmful dyes instead of natural ingredients. Ingredients include materials such as spinach (yes, spinach), and still they do not include a taste. Sayward Rebhal, scientist, baker, and author of “8 Ways to Make Organic DIY Food Coloring” tells us how to use all-natural ingredients just the way they are to create pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple food coloring (for more information, go to http://www.networx.com/article/8-ways-to-make-organic-diy-food-coloring). For brown and black food coloring, Kresha Faber, avid researcher and cooker, along as the author of nourishingjoy.com.
Pink and Red
Sayward Rebhal says that it is possible to use whatever ingredient you want, but for lots of color and no flavor, beets are your best option. In preference, you can also use any red fruit, like raspberries , although there may be some taste of the fruit, which can be a good idea.
Orange
Normally when you think of orange, you think of, well, an orange! BUT, citrus is bursting with flavor, but it does not really give off much color. Carrots, would be the wiser choice. Do not worry about the flavor, as carrots are naturally sweet!
Yellow
For yellow, normally you would use spices. Ingredients such as saffron flowers and turmeric do quite well in coloring. This expert knows this; when she goes to an Indian restaurant, 9 out of 10 times will she spill something on her shirt that will not come off. They will add a bit of taste too, so taste your DIY dye as you add the spices.
Green
Have you ever wanted to make yourself healthier by getting greens into yourself? On the other hand, greens do not normally taste that good. Well, did you know that it is possible to make green frosting using greens, and there isn’t any flavor? This expert promises. Some example of greens are spinach and kale.
Blue and Purple
Here comes the tricky twosome; these colors are a bit harder, but they are definitely possible. Blueberries and blackberries work quite well, but your best bet is not grapes- it is actually cabbage! Yes, you heard right! Red cabbage can create blue and purple dye! Super Cabbage! Boiling the cabbage will make a pretty purple, and added baking soda will change the color to a beautiful blue.
Black
Ever want to bake creepy bat cookies, without the unhealthy dyes? Well, now you can! There are two options- black cocoa powder for sweets, and squid ink (yes, squid ink) to dye savory food. Normally, candy is not savory, so black cocoa powder would be ideal. Although you could really do whatever you want, using the substances the other way around would taste slightly odd!
Brown
Now, for the “chocolate” cupcakes! To trick the consumers of your (hopefully) delicious sweet into thinking that you frosting is chocolate, you can create brown food coloring, without the ingredients that will hurt can hurt your health. Obviously, normally one would just use chocolate itself, but others can use cocoa powder (used in chocolate), pure espresso, for the morning people, and cinnamon! Who does not love cinnamon? Careful, these ingredients may include their flavor into your dye, so taste your dye with every bit of the substance used.
Conclusion
The Mars Company has been in business since 1911, and the Hershey’s Company opened in 1894. Some may argue that these two companies should discontinue their candies all together, but it really would be a shame to put the leading two companies out of business just because of too much sugar and whatnot. Consequently, the world can pay the price, by the result of many things, including many citizens out of jobs, and also the fact that candy is, believe it or not, a big part of our lives. This fifth grader, although she does not eat candy that much (her dad does), normally eats the treat when she is especially annoyed or blue. But, when she thinks about what nasty ingredients are in the candy she is eating, she feels so disgusted, that she does not eat the candy and goes right on being annoyed/blue. Why should anyone drop their candy because of health drawbacks? Why would anyone doubt this prospect- actions need to be taken to make candy healthier, and consumers will most definitely be healthier too.
MAKE CANDY GREAT AGAIN!
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