Health officials are advocating for tighter regulations to prevent food businesses from importing and selling Jolly Ranchers, following the discovery of toxic chemicals in the candies that are also found in petroleum products.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued an urgent warning after identifying that the American sweets, produced by The Hershey Company, contain Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons (MOAH), rendering them unsafe for consumption.

The agency advised, “Food businesses selling these products in the UK should immediately halt sales, carry out product withdrawals, and initiate product recalls if retail sales have already occurred.”

Furthermore, the FSA is urging enforcement authorities to ensure that any businesses supplied with the affected products take prompt action to remove these unsafe items from the market.

The alert covers several products, including Hard Candy, ‘Misfits’ Gummies, Hard Candy Fruity 2 in 1, Berry Gummies, Filled Pops, and Freeze Dried Candy.

This warning follows last year’s ban on the sweets due to concerns over ingredients linked to cancer.

These chemicals, derived from crude oil, have been linked to serious illnesses including cancer, particularly in the liver and lymph nodes. 

This makes the sweets unsafe to eat, particularly over long periods of time, and not compliant with UK law.

UK businesses and consumers are being urged to stop buying and selling the Jolly Rancher products, owned by US firm Hershey

The recall also includes the Jolly Rancher Fruity 2 in 1 and Very Berry

Whilst the food watchdog said there is ‘no immediate cause for concern for consumers that have eaten these products’, MOAH is a known carcinogen and may pose a significant safety risk if consumed regularly.

It continued: ‘Although the levels consumers are exposed to are likely to be low, they may present a risk to health because they contain MOAH. 

‘Consumption of the affected sweets is of toxicological concern, especially in younger age groups and where consumers eat a lot of the products or eat it regularly.’ 

According to the agency, The Hershey Company has been working with the FSA and to remove unsafe products from UK markets since 2024, but other businesses continue to import and supply the products.

The FSA is advising people who have bought any of the listed products to not eat them and dispose of them at home. 

Those with concerns are advised to contact the Trading Standards department or the  Environmental Health department for the area in which the sweets were purchased. 

And it isn’t just Jolly Ranchers – experts warn there are numerous US products with illegal ingredients making their way to the UK. 

Earlier last year, it was revealed sweets, fizzy drinks and crisps containing illegal ingredients, imported from the US, were ‘flooding the UK’.

The recall includes the Jolly Rancher Hard Candy and Misfits Gummies

These included Fanta Pineapple, Mountain Dew, Swedish Fish, Prime Hydration, Cheetos Crunchy and Twizzlers Strawberry Twists and Rainbow Twists.

The potentially harmful and illegal substances included brominated vegetable oil, known as BVO, which is found in the fizzy drink Mountain Dew.

Others include Red Dye 3, widely used to add colour to jelly beans and preserved cherries, and white mineral oil, which is used to make popular sweets, Swedish Fish.

All of the Jolly Rancher products included in the ban also include artificial food dyes like Red 40, Yellows 5 and 6 and Blue 1. 

All of these dyes have been linked to hyperactivity, migraines and some forms of cancer.