The National Confectioners Association and the Chocolate Manufacturers Association have established the following safety tips to help make this Halloween a safe and enjoyable one:
| Appearance | Normal Condition |
| Air bubbles | Result of manufacture |
Color Variation |
|---|
| Graying chocolate | Fat Ablooms caused by exposure to heat
Sugar "bloom" caused by exposure to dampness |
| Unmixed color | Result of manufacture |
| "Glass" | Large sugar or salt crystals resulting from manufacture
Hard unexpanded malted milk ball center
Tree sap, a gum sometimes present because of nuts (from trees) |
| Indentations | Result of manufacture; sometimes due to a timing imperfection in wrapping |
| Lumps |
|---|
| Hard | Result of manufacture; may be peanut bit or stem or fruit pit |
| White | Result of manufacture; may be undissolved starch used in enrobing
process or sugar or salt from peanut butter |
| "Metal" | Candy burned in manufacture |
| White particles | Sugar or starch from manufacture in container |
| "Pin holes" | Air holes or starch holes that result from chocolate enrobing process; holes from sizing units |
Off-white or whitish-
yellow powder | On product or in container from crushing of chocolate; on surface below chocolate covering, may be starch covering for filling |
| "Spots" | Black or brown spots may be sugar burned in manufacture |
| "Stone" | Hard piece of unexpanded malted milk ball center |
| Odd Taste | Undissolved citric or ascorbic acid may be unusually bitter or sour; unusually strong flavoring may result from air bubbles with concentrated flavoring |
| Wet Look | Moisture from product of polish solution |
| "Wood" | May be a peanut stem approximately 3/4" long with a rough textured exterior |
| "Worm" or "Larva" | Leaking of cream center |