Food Allergen Content of Popular Halloween Candy

Halloween is supposed to be a fun holiday for kids. Dressing up in cute, funny, scary costumes, decorating the house with creepy spiders, carved pumpkins, or bones that appear to erupt from the ground, and of course, a showering of candy and sweets unlike any other day in the year. Halloween is a child’s delight for many kids, but it comes with its own set of risks for those children with food allergies.

Halloween Candy
Ted Kurihara Photography

While Halloween is still an exciting part of the year for food-allergic kids, it comes with its issues and limitations. For one, the risk of exposure to food allergens is high, from accidental ingestion to cross-contamination.

For parents of food-allergic kids, Halloween can be a complete and stress-filled nightmare. You have to be a detective, looking for sources of milk, egg, soy, wheat, and other allergens. Fearing an unexpected allergic reaction, policing candy by sorting it into safe and unsafe piles, and monitoring candy consumption are necessary chores for parents of kids with food allergies.

One way to make managing candy easier is to know which candy contains what ingredients. This article includes a listing of the most popular Halloween candy, along with their food allergen content.

You’ll find both an ingredient list and an allergen summary indicating the common 9 food allergens. Of course, you may have a food allergy to additional ingredients beyond the common nine, which is why we listed the full ingredient list.

Nine Common Food Allergens

Nearly 90% of all major food allergies are related to proteins found in the following nine foods:

When using this chart please note the following:

  • Ingredients were obtained from the manufacturer’s website.
  • Ingredients are subject to change. Full-size portions may not be the same in miniature form.
  • Read the ingredient label. Manufacturers are required to list the major food allergens on the package as per the FALCPA regulations.
  • Miniature forms of candy do not contain a listing of ingredients on the individual package. These ingredients can be found on the larger package.
  • Pay attention to the warnings about co-production with other foods or candies, which may cause cross-contamination.

Popular Halloween Candy Ingredients and Food Allergens

Candy Ingredients Food allergens
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skin milk, milk fat, lactose, soy lecithin, PGPR); peanuts, sugar, dextrose, salt, TBHQ (preservative), citric acid Milk, soy, peanuts; made in the same facility as other products that contain eggs, tree nuts, and wheat
M & M’s candies Sugar, cocoa mass, skimmed milk powder, cocoa butter, lactose, starch, milk fat, palm fat, glucose syrup, shea fat, stabilizer (gum arabic), dextrin, glazing agents (beeswax, carnauba wax), colors (E100, carmine, E132, E133, E150a, E150c, E150d, E153, E160a, E160e, E162, E163, E170), beetroot concentrate, emulsifiers (soya lecithin, E445), salt, flavorings, palm kernel oil, antioxidant (E306) Milk, soy; may contain peanuts, hazelnuts, and almonds
Peanut M & M's candies Sugar, peanuts, cocoa mass, full cream milkpowder, cocoa butter, starch, palm fat, glucose syrup, skimmed milkpowder, emulsifier (soyalecithin), lactose (milk), stabilizer (gum arabic), shea fat, milk fat, dextrin, colours (E100, carmine, E132, E133, E150a, E150c, E150d, E153, E160a, E160e, E162, E163, E170), glazing agent (carnauba wax), salt, palm kernel oil, flavoring, beetroot concentrate Milk, soy, peanuts; may contain tree nuts
Snickers Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skim milk, lactose, milk fat, soy lecithin), peanuts, corn syrup, sugar, palm oil, skim milk, lactose, salt, egg whites, artificial flavors Milk, soy, peanuts, egg; may contain tree nuts
Hershey’sBar Milk chocolate (sugar, milk, chocolate, cocoa butter, milk fat, soy lecithin, PGPR, natural flavor) Milk, soy lecithin
Kit Kat Sugar, wheat flour, skim milk, cocoa butter, chocolate, vegetable oil (palm kernel oil, palm oil), milk fat, lactose, contains 2% or less of: lecithin PGPR, vanillin, salt, yeast, baking soda Wheat, milk, soy; made in a facility that also processes peanuts
Almond Joy Corn syrup, sugar, coconut, almonds, vegetable oil (palm oil, shea oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, palm kernel oil), chocolate, milk, contains 2% or less of: lactose, milk fat, skim milk, cocoa, whey, salt, lecithin, PGPR, hydrolyzed milk protein, sodium metabisulfite, vanillin Milk, soy, almonds; made in a facility that also processes peanuts
Milky Way Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, skim milk, chocolate, lactose, milk fat, soy lecithin), corn syrup, sugar, palm oil, skim milk; contains less than 2% of: milk fat, cocoa powder processed with alkali, barley malt extract, lactose, salt, egg whites, chocolate, artificial flavor Milk, egg, soy; may contain peanuts
Hershey’s Cookies and Cream Sugar, vegetable oil (palm oil, shea oil, sunflower oil, palm kernel oil, safflower oil), skim milk, corn syrup solids, enriched wheat flour (flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), lactose, contains 2% or less of: cocoa processed with alkali, whey, lecithin, high fructose corn syrup, chocolate, baking soda, salt, natural flavor, artificial flavor, PGPR Milk, wheat, soy; made on the same equipment that also processes almonds
3 Musketeers Milk chocolate (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, skim milk, lactose, milk fat, soy lecithin), sugar, corn syrup, palm oil, cocoa powder processed with alkali; contains less than 2% of: salt, egg whites, artificial flavor Milk, soy, egg; may contain peanuts
Twix bar Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skim milk, lactose, milk fat, soy lecithin, PGPR, artificial flavors), enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar, palm oil, corn syrup, skim milk, dextrose, contains less than 2% of: salt, cocoa powder, soy lecithin, modified corn starch, baking soda, artificial flavor Milk, soy, wheat; may contain peanuts
Skittles Sugar, corn syrup, hydrogenated palm kernel oil; contains less than 2% of: citric acid, tapioca dextrin, modified corn starch, natural and artificial flavors, colors (includes red 40 lake, yellow 5 lake, blue 2 lake, yellow 6 lake, blue 1 lake, yellow 6, red 40, yellow 5, blue 1), sodium citrate, carnauba wax None
Twizzlers Corn syrup, enriched wheat flour (flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar, cornstarch, contains 2% or less of: palm oil, salt, artificial flavor, citric acid, artificial color (red 40), mineral oil, lecithin Wheat, soy
Life Savers Sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, colors (red 40, yellow 5, blue 1) None
Tootsie Rolls Sugar, corn syrup, palm oil, condensed skim milk, cocoa, whey, soy lecithin, artificial and natural flavors Milk, soy
Nerds Dextrose, sugar, malic acid, contains less than 2% of: corn syrup, artificial flavors, carnauba wax, colors (carmine color, blue 1, blue 1 lake, blue 2 lake, red 40 lake, yellow 5, yellow 5 lake, yellow 6, yellow 6 lake) None; may contain egg
Butterfinger Corn syrup, sugar, peanuts, vegetable oil (palm kernel and palm oil), peanut flour, nonfat milk, contains less than 2% of: cocoa, milk, salt, soy lecithin, natural flavor, annatto color Peanut, milk, soy
Baby Ruth Sugar, dry roasted peanuts, corn syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oil (palm kernel, coconut, and soybean), nonfat milk, cocoa, high fructose corn syrup, contains less than 2% of: glycerin, dairy product solids, dextrose, salt, soy lecithin, lactic acid esters, carrageenan Peanut, milk, soy
Jolly Ranchers Corn syrup, sugar, contains 2% or less of: malic acid, natural flavor, artificial flavor, artificial color (red 40, yellow 5, blue 1, yellow 6), mineral oil, lecithin Soy
Starburst Chews Sugar, corn syrup, hydrogenated palm kernel oil; contains less than 2% of: citric acid, tapioca dextrin, gelatin, apple juice from concentrate, modified corn starch, natural and artificial flavors, colors (red 40, yellow 5, yellow 6, blue 1) None; contains food starch-modified
Dum Dum Lollipops Sugar, corn syrup, citric acid, malic acid, artificial flavor, color added (red 40, yellow 6, yellow 5, blue 1) None
Crunch Bar Milk chocolate (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, nonfat milk, lactose, milk fat, soy lecithin, natural flavor), crisped rice (rice flour, sugar, barley malt, salt) Milk, soy; may contain peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat
Whoppers Sugar, corn syrup, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, whey, cocoa, contains 2% or less of malted milk (barley malt, wheat flour, milk, salt, sodium bicarbonate), confectioner's glaze, soy lecithin, salt, natural and artificial flavors, calcium carbonate, tapioca dextrin Milk, wheat, soy
Sour Patch Kids Sugar, invert sugar, corn syrup, modified corn starch, contains less than 2% of: tartaric acid, citric acid, natural and artificial flavor, yellow 6, red 40 lake, yellow 5 lake, blue 2 lake None
Smarties Dextrose, citric acid, calcium stearate, natural and artificial flavors, colors (red 40 lake, yellow 5 lake, yellow 6 lake, blue 2 lake) None if made in the USA
Brach's Candy Corn Sugar, corn syrup, confectioner’s glaze, salt, dextrose, gelatin, sesame oil, artificial flavor, honey, yellow 6, yellow 5, red 3 Sesame seed; processed in a facility that used milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soy
Red Vines Corn syrup, wheat flour, citric acid, artificial flavor, red 40 Wheat
Good & Plenty Sugar, corn syrup, enriched wheat flour (flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), contains 2% or less of: licorice extract, gum acacia, cornstarch, salt, natural flavor, artificial flavor, rice starch, artificial color (carmine color (colour, k-carmine), red 40 lake), caramel color, confectioner's glaze, carnauba wax Wheat
Chewy SweeTARTS Dextrose, corn syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil, maltodextrin, contains less than 2% of: DL-malic acid, calcium stearate, egg albumen, artificial flavors, mono- and diglycerides, color (blue 1 lake, blue 2 lake, red 40 lake, yellow 5 lake) Egg
Toblerone Milk chocolate (sugar, milk, cocoa butter, chocolate, milkfat, soy lecithin, artificial flavor), sugar, honey, almonds, invert sugar, egg whites Milk, soy, almond, egg
1 Source
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Food allergies.

Jill Castle, MS, RD

By Jill Castle, MS, RD
Jill Castle, MS, RD, is a childhood nutrition expert, published book author, consultant, and public speaker who helps parents nourish healthy kids.