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Wax In Candy Wrappers

Wax In Candy Wrappers

Americans spend billions of dollars on Halloween candy each year. Most candy handed out for trick-or-treating is in a wrapper, but what you may not know is that many candy wrappers have some type of wax coating.

Why Candy Wrappers Have Wax Coatings

Wax is used to coat candy wrappers for a variety of reasons. Many candy types are sticky, especially taffy and other chewy candies. The wax-coated wrapper creates a barrier between the sticky candy and the paper wrapper to act as a release agent. The wax makes it easier and less messy to unwrap and enjoy the sweet treat.

For suckers wrapped in paper, the wax also seals the bottom part of the wrapper and prevents the sucker from coming loose.

Many candies are wrapped with a twist on either side to hold the candy in the paper. The wax coating on the paper wrapper helps keep those twists from coming undone.

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Wax coatings also make the paper wrappers more durable. Without the wax coating, wrappers would rip easier and start to disintegrate if they came in contact with moisture.

Candy Wrapper Wax Coating Facts

Candy wrappers are usually coated with a laminating wax or another similar wax-based coating. A ream of candy wrapper paper is approximately 3,000 square feet. Each ream of wrapper paper uses seven to eight pounds of wax. The amount of wax on each wrapper depends on the size of the candy being wrapped.

During Halloween, when thousands of pounds of candy are bought, thousands of pounds of wax are also being used to coat the wrappers.

When you hear trick-or-treat this year, remember all of the details that go into creating candy wrappers to protect your sweet treats!

Learn other ways wax is used in Halloween celebrations!