GOURMET RED LIQUORICE CANDY — DUMP
Munch or Dump rates GOURMET RED LIQUORICE CANDY by Kenny's Candy Company Inc. DUMP — score 17/90.
Despite the 'gourmet' label, this is the textbook ultra-processed candy build: three different sugars, palm oil, and enriched wheat flour with modified starch, finished with Red 40 and artificial flavor. That sugar-plus-refined-oil-plus-refined-starch combination is exactly what makes candy hard to stop eating. Nothing gourmet about the ingredient list.
Why this verdict
- Three distinct sweeteners: sugar, corn syrup, and cane syrup
- Hyper-palatable build — sugar + palm oil + enriched wheat flour and modified food starch
- Colored with FD&C Red No. 40, a synthetic dye
- Long additive list including artificial flavor, mono- and diglycerides, and potassium sorbate
- NOVA 4 — ultra-processed industrial formulation
Ingredients (15)
- Sugar (moderate) — Added for sweetness, can contribute to calorie content.
- Corn Syrup (caution) — Added sugar baked into the crust.
- Enriched wheat flour (moderate) — Refined flour stripped of bran then fortified - the crust base.
- Water (safe) — Used as a basic ingredient in bread.
- cane syrup (caution) — Third distinct sweetener - pure sugar in liquid form.
- modified food starch (moderate) — Industrial thickener that gives the condensed texture; a processing marker.
- Palm Oil (moderate) — Saturated-fat-heavy oil used in the crust.
- citric acid (safe) — Acidity and tartness adjuster.
- NATURAL & ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR (moderate) — Includes synthetic flavoring for the vanilla taste.
- malic acid (safe) — Tartness, contributes the sour note.
- SOY MONO- & DIGLYCERIDES (moderate) — Emulsifiers that are commonly used but add to the processed nature.
- sodium citrate (moderate) — Emulsifying salt in the process cheese.
- Potassium Sorbate (moderate) — Preservative for shelf life.
- Salt (moderate) — Used in moderation, might exceed necessary amount.
- FD&C RED NO. 40 (avoid) — Petroleum-derived synthetic dye. No nutritional purpose; flagged in behavioral studies.
Healthier alternatives