Russell Stover Caramels & Chews Fine Chocolates, Caramels & Chews

Russell Stover Candies Inc. · Chocolate · barcode 00077260040183

What stands out

From the label
The ingredients list Partially hydrogenated oils, Red No. 40 (Allura Red), Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine) and Blue No. 1 (Brilliant Blue), which have stricter rules elsewhere. Strictest: No longer allowed by FDA; EU warning label. Details

Lab testsNo lab has published results for this exact product.
RecallsNo FDA recall lists this barcode.
Additives4 ingredients have stricter rules elsewhere. Strictest: No longer allowed by FDA; EU warning label. Which
TypicalFDA's tests of chocolate show what's typical. See levels
Others3 other chocolate products have lab results. Compare them

Additives with restrictions somewhere

From the ingredient list on file (label data dated 2021-10-28). Recipes change, so check the package you have.

Rules that apply to more than one of these

Texas: Warning label required from 2027-01-01 Labels developed on or after January 1, 2027 must warn that the product contains an ingredient not recommended for consumption in Australia, Canada, the EU or the UK. (SB 25 (2025)) Source. Applies to all of them.
Louisiana: Warning label required from 2028-01-01 Products containing it must carry a QR code disclosure from January 1, 2028. (SB 14, Act 463 (2025)) Source. Applies to all of them.
US (FDA): Allowed Source. Applies to Red No. 40 (Allura Red), Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine), Blue No. 1 (Brilliant Blue).
EU: Allowed with warning label (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex V) Source. Applies to Red No. 40 (Allura Red), Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine).
California: Banned in school meals from 2027-12-31 Banned in food and drinks offered in California public schools from December 31, 2027. (AB 2316 (2024)) Source. Applies to Red No. 40 (Allura Red), Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine), Blue No. 1 (Brilliant Blue).
West Virginia: Banned from 2028-01-01 Food containing it is treated as adulterated in West Virginia from January 1, 2028. (HB 2354 (2025)) Source. Applies to Red No. 40 (Allura Red), Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine), Blue No. 1 (Brilliant Blue).
West Virginia: Banned in school meals from 2025-08-01 Banned in West Virginia school meals since August 1, 2025. (HB 2354 (2025)) Source. Applies to Red No. 40 (Allura Red), Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine), Blue No. 1 (Brilliant Blue).
Louisiana: Banned in school meals from 2028-2029 school year Banned in Louisiana school food from the 2028-2029 school year (concession stands and vending machines exempt). (SB 14, Act 463 (2025)) Source. Applies to Red No. 40 (Allura Red), Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine), Blue No. 1 (Brilliant Blue).

Partially hydrogenated oils

US (FDA): Authorization revoked FDA determined in 2015 that they are no longer generally recognized as safe; makers had to remove them, with final compliance dates in 2018-2020. Labels on file may predate that. (80 FR 34650 (2015)) Source

Red No. 40 (Allura Red) (E129)

Only the shared rules above.

Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine) (E102)

Only the shared rules above.

Blue No. 1 (Brilliant Blue) (E133)

EU: Allowed On the EU's list of approved additives as E133. (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008) Source

Typical for chocolate

What FDA found when it bought and tested this kind of food across the US. These are not tests of this product.

Lead: typically 4.05 ppb (FDA, 6 samples, 2018-2020). A toddler reaches FDA's daily limit at about 550 g (19 oz) a day; an adult at about 2.2 kg (4.9 lb).
One serving (2 pieces, 34 g, from the label):
6% of a toddler's daily limit
2% of an adult's daily limit
Cadmium: typically 18 ppb (FDA, 6 samples, 2018-2020). A toddler reaches EPA's daily limit at about 840 g (30 oz) a day; an adult at about 3.9 kg (8.6 lb).
One serving (2 pieces, 34 g, from the label):
4% of a toddler's daily limit
under 1% of an adult's daily limit
Arsenic (total): typically 3.1 ppb (FDA, 6 samples, 2018-2020). No US agency limit we can cite.
Perchlorate: typically 5.98 ppb (FDA, 40 samples, 2008-2012). A toddler reaches EPA's daily limit at about 1.8 kg (4 lb) a day; an adult at about 8.6 kg (19 lb).
One serving (2 pieces, 34 g, from the label):
2% of a toddler's daily limit
under 1% of an adult's daily limit
Mercury: usually below 1 ppb, the lab's limit, in FDA's samples.

FDA samples behind these numbers

Lead in Candy bar, chocolate, nougat, with nuts: found in 0 of 3 samples, all below 4 ppb (2018-2020)
Lead in Candy bar, milk chocolate, plain: found in 3 of 3 samples, average 7.93, highest 8.3 ppb (2018-2020)
Cadmium in Candy bar, chocolate, nougat, with nuts: found in 3 of 3 samples, average 15.7, highest 17 ppb (2018-2020)
Cadmium in Candy bar, milk chocolate, plain: found in 3 of 3 samples, average 20, highest 26 ppb (2018-2020)
Mercury in Candy bar, chocolate, nougat, with nuts: found in 0 of 3 samples, all below 1 ppb (2018-2020)
Mercury in Candy bar, milk chocolate, plain: found in 1 of 3 samples, average 0.57, highest 1.7 ppb (2018-2020)
Arsenic (total) in Candy bar, chocolate, nougat, with nuts: found in 2 of 3 samples, average 3.63, highest 7.8 ppb (2018-2020)
Arsenic (total) in Candy bar, milk chocolate, plain: found in 2 of 3 samples, average 2.13, highest 3.3 ppb (2018-2020)
Perchlorate in Candy bar, chocolate, nougat, and nuts: found in 15 of 20 samples, average 2.52, highest 9 ppb (2008-2012)
Perchlorate in Candy bar, milk chocolate, plain: found in 19 of 20 samples, average 8.92, highest 15 ppb (2008-2012)

"Typically" is FDA's middle sample. Daily amounts use the long-run average and each chemical's daily limit (EPA reference dose, or FDA's level for lead) for a 33-lb toddler and a 154-lb adult. ppb = micrograms per kilogram of food. Source: FDA Total Diet Study.

Not tested

No published results for this product cover: Metals, Perchlorate, Phthalates (plastic softeners), Phthalate substitutes, Bisphenols. That means nobody has published a test, not that these are absent.

Ingredients (from the label)

CONSIST OF CHOCOLATE {SUGAR, CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, COCOA BUTTER, WHOLE MILK, MILK FAT, SOY LECITHIN (AN EMULSIFIER), VANILLIN (AN ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR)}, CORN SYRUP, CONDENSED MILK, SUGAR, BROWN SUGAR, DAIRY CREAM, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED PALM KERNEL OIL, MOLASSES, NUTS (ALMONDS, WALNUTS, PEANUTS, PECANS), CHERRIES {CHERRIES, CORN SYRUP, WATER, SUGAR, CITRIC ACID, SODIUM BENZOATE AND POTASSIUM SORBATE (PRESERVATIVES), SULFUR DIOXIDE (TO PROMOTE COLOR RETENTION), FD&C RED #40}, WHOLE MILK, NONFAT MILK SOLIDS, INVERT SUGAR, WHITE CHOCOLATE {SUGAR, COCOA BUTTER, WHOLE MILK, SOY LECITHIN (AN EMULSIFIER), ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, SALT}, RASPBERRIES, COCONUT WITH SODIUM METABISULFITE (TO PROMOTE COLOR RETENTION), SALT, HONEY, EGG ALBUMEN, RAISINS, APRICOTS WITH SULFUR DIOXIDE (TO PROMOTE COLOR RETENTION), BUTTER, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, SOY LECITHIN (AN EMULSIFIER), COCOA POWDER, TAPIOCA FLOUR, SPICE, FD&C COLORS (RED #40, YELLOW #5 & #6, BLUE #1), AND SODIUM BENZOATE AND POTASSIUM SORBATE (PRESERVATIVES).

From USDA FoodData Central, label dated 2021-10-28. Labels change; check the package.

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