amber
E471
Industrial fatty-acid emulsifier shown to disrupt gut mucus barrier and microbiome in mouse models. Ubiquitous in baked goods and chocolate.
Low Tox Gear · Scanner
M&M's Crunchy Caramel
Is Mars M&M's Crunchy Caramel low tox? Our scanner flagged 3 ingredients (3 in the caution tier) on its published label, screened against our 237 source-cited chemical rules.
3 caution
3 ingredients flagged
What we flagged
amber
E133
Coal-tar derived dye; absorbed through compromised gut barrier.
amber
E171 E172
Banned as a food additive in the EU (2022) due to nano-particle genotoxicity concerns. Inhalation classified IARC Group 2B.
Full ingredients (from label)
sugarcocoa massfull cream milk powderlactosecocoa butterglucose syrupbutter (from milk)starchshea kernel oilsweetened condensed skimmed milkpalm oilpalm fatshea fatemulsifiers (soya lecithin, E471)stabiliser (gum arabic)colours (E100, E133, E160a, E160e, E162, E171 E172)saltdextrinflavouringsraising agent (E500). peanutsglazing agent (carnauba wax)palm kernel oilnatural vanilla extract. (May contain: hazelnut). Milk chocolate contains milk solids 14% minimum.
How this analysis is generated
Each ingredient on this product's published label is matched against our 237 source-cited chemical rules, each documenting a concern from peer-reviewed research and regulatory sources. Severity tiers:
- Avoid (red) — banned or restricted in the EU, UK or Canada but still legal in the US, IARC-listed, or strong contact-allergen evidence.
- Caution (amber) — regulatory caution, contamination risk, or condition-specific irritant.
- Mild (green) — low concern but commonly avoided in low-tox formulations.
Each flag links to its primary chemical-level source, and each condition pill links to a PubMed-indexed paper that discusses the chemical class in the context of that condition. Every citation is a real peer-reviewed paper — we don't link to Wikipedia or PubMed search pages. Some pairs use a topically-broad paper (e.g. a fragrance-allergen patch-test review) rather than a single-pair study where the literature is thin. The full evidence chain (chemical → mechanism → condition → paper) is one click away.
This is automated analysis of a published label, not medical advice — always verify the label yourself before changing products. Methodology and source list at scan.lowtoxgear.com.