These are nervous times in the food industry. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy is centralizing control of health-related agencies under his authority. He’s advancing his “Make America Healthy Again” campaign by, paradoxically, slashing more than 80,000 from the federal health workforce. That sets the stage for what Chicago’s Journal of the American Medical Association recently quoted in a headline as, “guaranteed pandemonium.”

Among his bold statements about the modern food supply, Kennedy has said Americans are being “unknowingly poisoned” by canola and soybean oil, for instance, and described the sale of so-called “ultra-processed” food like hot dogs and chips to Native Americans as a “genocide.”

He wants to ban long-approved dyes and preservatives. And he’s angling to use government power to remake school lunches and prevent food-stamp recipients from shopping in some of the most popular sections of the grocery aisles. Many are applauding him.

And as for the sweet stuff most Americans enjoy in moderation? “Sugar is poison,” Kennedy said last month, and Americans need to know that it’s poison.

We share his goal of food policy that yields a healthy population. We also have an interest in Chicago-based businesses.

The $2 billion Chicago company that makes Lemonheads, Jelly Bellies and Nerds unsurprisingly takes a different view from Kennedy. As Ferrara Candy Co.’s Katie Duffy says, “Everything we produce is safe to eat.”

This page recognizes that sugar has contributed to the obesity epidemic and we don’t think that all of Kennedy’s warnings are without foundation. But we’ve also long recoiled against Uncle Sam telling Americans what to eat. If a food product is safe from a scientific standpoint, the government has no business blocking it from the marketplace.

Food producers should be honest about what’s in their products so people can make informed decisions. Armed with that information, we believe people are smart enough to make their own decisions without Nanny State intervention.

Candy is a good example: Do you know anybody who puts Laffy Taffy at the center of the plate for dinner or serves a steak with a side of Twizzlers? Just about everyone understands that too much sugar in the diet can be unhealthy. But people also realize they can safely enjoy a treat now and then without bringing on the deadly, chronic conditions that Kennedy invokes in scare tactics that we worry will backfire.

For now, the food industry is proceeding with cautious optimism. At Ferrara, which has a long, proud history of making candy in Chicago, the business outlook is still positive, according to Greg Guidotti, chief marketing officer.

Taking a break from handing out Freeze-Dried Sweet Tarts and Nerds Gummy Clusters at a recent trade show in Indianapolis, Guidotti reaffirmed that his fast-growing company sees its future in sugar-based candy (called just “Sugar” in industry parlance, to distinguish it from “Chocolate”). “We have intentions to be the global leader in Sugar,” Guidotti said. “We’re definitely the U.S. leader.”

The company’s “shining star,” as he puts it, is the Nerds business, which he said has grown from just $70 million in pre-pandemic sales to $900 million today. “Nerds Clusters changed the game,” he explained, referencing a product that combines the traditionally crunchy Nerds with those with a gummy center.

The National Confectioners Association, which runs the candy show, is focused on ensuring the FDA can do its traditional job. Indeed, the U.S. needs a central regulator to determine what’s safe, and as we’ve written before, food producers should not knowingly add dangerous ingredients into our food supply. And while many are focused on distributing safe, delicious products, it’s true that there are major food manufacturers that prioritize low-cost production over guaranteeing a safe, healthy food supply.

The FDA must retain the capacity to evaluate food based on science and enact policy that follows science.

Consumers are still making room in their budgets for sweets. Last year, retail sales of chocolate, candy, gum and mints topped $54 billion. With sales like this, it’s hard not to acknowledge that Americans are consuming a lot of sweets.

We’re all for enjoying sugar — and Sugar — in moderation. But let’s not lose our heads.

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