Amongst other Halloween staples such as jack o’ lanterns and horror movies lies the infamous candy corn. For most people it’s hit or miss, being either a seasonal favorite or scum of the earth. Candle wax–I mean, candy corn– has always been the latter for me, being something I can only describe as borderline inedible. 

Not only is candy corn just disgusting, but the leading candy corn brand, Brach’s, sells nearly 100 products that contain the dye Red 3, including all of their candy corn products listed on their website. According to the Food and Drug Administration, this type of dye is a carcinogen which has been linked to thyroid cancer. 

In addition to this, candy corn is just generally hated (as it should be). Based on a study conducted by Shiny Smiles Veneers, which surveyed more than 1,000 Americans, 36% of people reported to hate receiving candy corn on Halloween. This was the highest percentage among the results, making candy corn the least popular in comparison to the 20 other types of candy which were featured on the survey.

Not to mention, handing out candy corn on Halloween is almost impossible. For a candy that is considered by many to be a symbol of the holiday, most packages of candy corn come in bags just filled with the candy. It’s not like other types of candy that come prepackaged. On the off chance that you were planning to hand out candy corn (why would you be doing that?), your choices would be very limited. For example, out of the seven different types of candy corn products that Brach’s offers, only one of those contains small packages meant for being handed out.

Some candy corn enthusiasts may argue that candy corn is a “classic” or “delicious”, that cannot be further from the truth. While it’s a given that candy corn is disgusting, it’s a carcinogenic substance, it was proven to be undesirable, and it’s difficult to pass out on Halloween.

There are so many better Halloween candy alternatives which don’t have the cons that candy corn does. For example, neither Skittles, BlowPops, Smarties, or Nerds contain Red 3. In terms of popularity, all of these types of candies are sold more often than candy corn, with Skittles even generating $261 million in annual sales during 2020. Additionally, they are commonly sold in small and shareable sized packages during October, making it easier for them to be passed out on Halloween. 

However, and most notably, candy corn is not timeless at all. As soon as fall is over and winter approaches, it’s over for this treat until next year. This puts candy corn on the sad discount racks at your local supermarkets and on the backburner of everyone’s minds by December. 

With that being said, the next time you’re out and about shopping for a sweet treat during spooky season, put the candy corn down. The bad outweighs the good, and there are so many better alternatives to go for instead.