According to Live Science, neither the FDA nor the World Health Organization has issued pregnancy warnings concerning licorice or glycyrrhizin; however, Finland’s national health institute added it to a list of foods to avoid while pregnant last year. Red Twizzlers, on the other hand, are completely safe for pregnant women to eat.

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Twizzlers aren’t technically licorice because they lack the necessary ingredient (licorice extract) to be classified as such. It doesn’t include genuine licorice if it isn’t black. Twizzlers are unhealthy. Like many candies, they’re loaded with sugar and artificial color and flavoring. They aren’t hazardous in small amounts, but they shouldn’t be a part of your weekly diet on a regular basis.

According to a recent study, pregnant women might consider adding licorice to their list of banned foods. Researchers found that children whose mothers ingested “high amounts” of licorice (250 grams, or about 9 ounces per week) during their pregnancies performed worse on reasoning and memory tests, as well as exhibited greater indicators of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

In addition to stout beer, the natural ingredient is employed in throat lozenges and root beer. The FDA advises that ingesting black licorice may cause low potassium levels, irregular cardiac rhythms, high blood pressure, and congestive heart failure.

The good news is that licorice sold in the United States most likely contains insignificant quantities of glycyrrhizin. Many licorice-like goods sold in the United States contain anise oil, which has a similar flavor and taste to glycyrrhizic acid but does not carry the same health hazards. Twizzlers, for example, a popular licorice confection made largely of corn syrup, wheat flour, and sugar, contains no glycyrrhizic acid (or even anise oil). Despite the fact that black licorice is more likely to contain the toxin, experts claim it’s only detected in trace amounts in items sold in the US.