The World's Most Sour Candy Comes With A Serious Warning
Most of us likely know that involuntarily puckering feeling as you suck on a sour candy — but what would it feel like to eat a candy so sour that it carries a warning on its label? Look to a British candy called Black Death Mega Sours, for your answer.
Black Death Mega Sour packaging comes with a warning printed on it, stating that it's not suitable for anyone under the age of 8. A website selling the candy expands on this, noting "Excessive consumption within a brief time frame may cause temporary mouth and/or stomach irritation." These warnings didn't go unnoticed, with one TikTok user, @underratedhijabi, garnering millions of views for a taste test of the candy in which she squealed and squirmed in reaction to its intense sour taste. Naturally, other TikTokers have also tried this challenge with the same or similar candies. Of course, there's no telling whether their reactions are genuine or played up for the camera. That said, the warning on the packaging may have some truth to it: Sour candy is a fairly acidic treat, and that acid is known to irritate the mouths and stomachs of more sensitive eaters, but usually only when consumed in excess.
But there's one particular claim that does seem to crop up more frequently from people. Ultra-sour candies, like Black Death, can burn your mouth.
Can I really burn my tongue on it?
Specifically, there are rumors that sour candy like Black Death can burn the taste buds off your tongue. This is because the acid in sour candy (and especially in ultra-intense sour candy) irritates your tongue in a way similar to chiles or spicy food. In reality, your taste buds are likely not being burned — it just feels that way. However, there are cases of sour candy appearing to burn consumers' tongues. This happened to model and cookbook writer Chrissy Teigen in 2020: Faced with pregnancy cravings, she ate a lot of sour candy and posted a video online with her tongue out, appearing patchy and discolored, and just a little gruesome.
This kind of burn is considered unlikely, but may be more plausible with ultra-acidic sour candy like the Mega Sours. There are isolated stories of people (usually children) getting these burns from sour candy, such as Black Death or Warheads. That said, these stories are sometimes sensationalized, with no apparent long-term harm done: After all, these candies are approved for sale in places like the U.S., although some carry warnings that they're not suitable for younger kids as they may be more sensitive to the acid. It's not just Black Death candy with warnings: Some Warheads candies are recommended for kids over 4. In any case, damaged taste buds should be replaced by new ones within days.
The other danger of sour candy
It's probably not news to anybody that dentists don't love candy in general, since sugary treats are known to cause tooth decay and cavities. But, dentists often reserve some extra ire for sour candy, due to its acidic properties — and their disapproval extends to sour candy in general, not just the intense versions like Black Death.
Here's why: The taste sensation we recognize as sour is really just the result of our taste buds processing acid. Sour candy tends to use citric acid to add that sour pop to it, but the catch is that acid also has the side effect of corroding your teeth. What happens is the acid from the candy dissolves your tooth enamel, which is what protects you from cavities and decay. Obviously, less enamel means more risk of damage.
Regular candy also causes tooth decay, but in a more indirect way: The sugar in (non-sour) candy interacts with bacteria in your mouth to create acid, also causing your enamel to weaken. But the extra acid on sour candy turbo-charges this, hence why dentists really hate it. And, while the best way to protect yourself from this potential damage is simply not to eat sour candy, you can also reduce possible damage by not holding candy in your mouth too long (this gives the acid more time to act) and by rinsing your mouth with water or milk right after to lower the acidity in your mouth.