"The confusion boils down to a quirky loophole in FDA regulations and some contradictory labeling. In the briefest possible explanation, a single Tic Tac contains about 94% sugar - making it the primary ingredient for these candies. However, the FDA only requires sugar to be listed when it exceeds a ½ gram, and a Tic Tac's total weight sits just under that."
"Nutrition labels are based on a single serving size, rather than the precise ingredient measurements. Yet, checking the back of a Tic Tac box, the packaging states that a serving contains zero calories. That directly contradicts Tic Tacs' FAQs, which claim that a single Tic Tac contains two calories. But, that's because the FDA also considers anything with less than five calories per serving to be zero-calorie."
A single Tic Tac is composed largely of sugar, but each piece falls under the FDA threshold that triggers mandatory sugar listing because its weight is just below 0.5 gram. Serving-based nutrition labels can show zero calories when per-serving values are under five calories, creating apparent contradictions with manufacturer FAQs that list two calories per mint. A box of 100 Tic Tacs can contain about 49 grams of sugar, nearing the FDA recommended daily limit of 50 grams of added sugars. Tic Tacs are not particularly healthy, but they are not acutely dangerous in typical consumption amounts.
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