Candy floss won’t give you cancer — but it will rot your teeth if you eat too much, leading experts insisted today.
Their reassuring verdict comes after one Indian state banned the treat because it contained a carcinogenic substance.
Rhodamine-B, the additive which sparked alarm, has been prohibited from being used in food and drinks made in Britain and the EU since 2013 due to its potential cancer-causing risk.
As such, experts claimed there was ‘very little chance’ of candy floss being sold in UK parks and fairs containing the substance. Imported bags of pre-made floss are slightly more likely to have rhodamine-B lurking within, they argued.
However, the greater danger came from its abundance of sugar, they argued.
Rhodamine B appears green in powder form but when added to water turns a vivid fluorescent pink. It is also used for cosmetics, dye textiles, and inks. In the UK it is commonly used to stain slides in laboratories and in the sewage industry to help locate leaks in drains
Tamil Nadu in southern India banned the sale of the sweet last week after lab tests revealed the candy floss contained Rhodamine-B as an artificial colouring agent. Under India’s 2006 Food Safety and Standards Act, the chemical is a ‘substandard’ and ‘unsafe’ food
Professor Tom Sanders, an expert in nutrition and dietetics at King’s College London, told MailOnline: ‘The biggest hazard posed by candy floss is it promotes tooth decay in children.’
Meanwhile, the British Nutrition Foundation added: ‘From a nutritional perspective, candy floss is almost entirely made of sugar.
‘This means it’s a concern both for sugars and calorie intakes and for dental health, particularly as it tends to stick to teeth.
‘The sugars can be in contact with teeth for long periods after eating.’
Dr Duane Mellor, a dietitian at Aston University, said: ‘The main ingredient in candy floss is perhaps the more challenging one to health.
‘Finely spun sugar is very sticky and can stick to teeth, which would allow bacteria to ferment it to make acids which are a many factor in tooth decay.
‘So, candy floss even without colours is not a health food.
‘It is almost completely made from sugar with a little food colouring added.’
Rhodamine B appears green in powder form but when added to water turns a vivid fluorescent pink. It is also used for cosmetics, dye textiles, and inks.
Within the UK, it is commonly used to stain slides in labs and in the sewage industry to help locate leaks in drains.
Tamil Nadu in southern India banned the sale of the sweet last week after lab tests revealed the candy floss contained rhodamine-B.
Under India’s 2006 Food Safety and Standards Act, the chemical is a ‘substandard’ and ‘unsafe’ food.
Earlier this month, Puducherry, a union territory, also banned the famous children’s treat.
Other states are preparing to conduct their own tests on candy floss sold locally.
Experts said it was ‘unlikely’ the findings in India would create a new issue in the UK. However, they cautioned smaller corner ships which typically evade testing pose a ‘greater’ risk
In the UK, the chemical is banned under the 2013 act ‘Food Additives, Flavourings, Enzymes and Extraction Solvents (England)’.
The dye becomes fluorescent under ultraviolet light, which can help businesses identify them, according to Trading Standards.
Professor Chris Elliott, chair of food Safety at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), told MailOnline: ‘Illegal and potentially toxic dyes such as rhodamine-B can make their way into a variety of different foods, spices are another prime example.
‘Any food which has food colouring agents added — cakes, desserts — are susceptible to this form of food fraud.
‘With the checks and testing that the major retailers undertake on the authenticity of many food products it would be very unlikely to be an issue in this sector.
‘However, the risks are much greater for the smaller corner store shops and cash and carry outlets that have very different supply chains and have virtually no form of testing undertaken.’
He added that the wood used is another potential risk.
Professor Elliott said: ‘Food grade wood should be used in such products but non-food grade is much cheaper.
‘If this happens there is a risk of contamination of the candy floss due to the leeching of chemicals into the candy floss.’
Meanwhile, Professor John Fawell, a biologist and visiting professor at the Cranfield University Water Institute, said: ‘Rhodamine-B was used as a tracing dye in groundwater in the past.
‘There is a suggestion of carcinogenic potential but exposure would need to be both high and long-term to be of clinical concern.
‘Having said that there are better alternatives and the use of a questionable chemical is absolutely inappropriate.’
In 2014, FSA issued a major customer alert after tests in West Yorkshire revealed traces of Rhodamine B had been found in traditional Asian sweets.
A Trading Standards officer initially spotted the problem after noticing a lurid colour of sweets sold in an Asian bakery in Calderdale, West Yorkshire.
