# What ingredient in sour candies makes my face break out in a sweat?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-in-sour-candies-makes-my-face-break-out-in-a-sweat/358162>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 25, 2006, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-in-sour-candies-makes-my-face-break-out-in-a-sweat/358162 "2006-05-25T14:13:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-in-sour-candies-makes-my-face-break-out-in-a-sweat/358162/1 "2006-05-25T14:13:30Z")

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Just like the thread title asks.

I love sour candies, and my current addiction is Wonka’s “Tart ‘n’ Tinys” chewy candies.

But no matter what sour candy I’m gulping down – be they sour gummies, sour Skittles, sour Sprees, or the aforementioned Tart ‘n’ Tinys – I start sweating in my face, especially around my nose and upper lip.

Now, I don’t gush enough that I need a shower! But it’s very noticeable to me, and I need to dab my face with a facial tissue once or twice after indulging.

I see nothing obvious in the ingredient lists of these candies that’s not also in other, non-sour candies such as Sweet Tarts. I’m talking about the usual suspects such as dextrose, malto-dextrose, malic acid, etc.

Perhaps it’s malic acid, which perhaps is in much higher concentrations in sour candies? I don’t know. Perhaps it’s the ubiquitous “other natural and artificial flavors” that abound?

Anyone know the culprit?

Also, am I a freak and the only person in the world who has this reaction?

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**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-in-sour-candies-makes-my-face-break-out-in-a-sweat/358162/2 "2006-05-25T14:38:24Z")

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I can’t account for your unusual reaction, but it’s almost certainly malic acid, which is used to make sour candies sour, particularly the super-sour ones like Atomic Warheads. Here is an [excellent article from Wired magaine](http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/7.06/candy_pr.html) on the popularity of such.

(My dad, GrillingWithCharcoal 😉 , used to be the president of a candy company, in fact, their products appear in one of the footer ads below.)

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**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-in-sour-candies-makes-my-face-break-out-in-a-sweat/358162/3 "2006-05-25T17:33:48Z")

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I get the same thing when I eat pineapple, if that helps/adds to the mystery.

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**Author:** ![BlakeTyner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@BlakeTyner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlakeTyner)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ingredient-in-sour-candies-makes-my-face-break-out-in-a-sweat/358162/4 "2006-05-25T18:37:10Z")

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Count me in on the OP’s “condition.” Sour candies do the exact same thing to me, and I never could figure out why. People look at me funny when I tell them about it. Well, people look at me funny pretty much all the time…but that’s not the point.