Consumer Reports: Minnesota Parents Shouldn’t Give Kids This Easter Treat

A report published last year by Candy USA revealed "an overwhelming 91 percent of Americans" planned to share Easter treats with family and friends - More than $4 Billion was spent on candy for last Easter.

With Easter right around the corner, parents across Minnesota are shopping for candy and preparing baskets full of goodies. Some of the most popular candies include jelly beans, Cadbury eggs, and Reece's peanut butter eggs. Those are all safe to hide in eggs around your house, but Consumer Reports says there is one that you might want to pass on.

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The type of candies vary but there are popular choices that always end up in many baskets. One of those sweet treats is being called out for containing cancer-causing chemicals.

Consumer Reports is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that has been testing products and reporting the good and the bad since 1936. They just issued a serious warning about the popular candy sold this time of year.

Minnesota Parents Beware: Cancer-Causing Chemical Found in Easter Candy

Consumer Reports published an article warning consumers that purple and pink Peeps are made with Red Dye No. 3 which is a known carcinogen.

Red Dye No. 3 was actually banned by the FDA in 1990... for use in cosmetics. It is still approved for use in food in the United States but has been outlawed in several other countries worldwide.

Peeps released this statement in response to the Consumer Reports article: "We manufacture all our candies in compliance with FDA regulations, sourcing our ingredients and packaging exclusively from reputable suppliers who adhere to high quality and safety standards.”

A recent LA Times article explaining efforts made by some US lawmakers contained a statement from this statement from the FDA: "The FDA routinely reviews new scientific information on the authorized uses of ingredients”; if those are deemed unsafe, the FDA can rescind its own approvals, alert the public and aid in recall efforts. Industry groups have maintained that red dye No. 3 is safe at the levels that people normally consume it."