Unwrapping a brightly colored taffy packaged in waxed paper may elicit a hint of nostalgia. Now and Later candies have been in production since the 1960s. The confections come in an array of fruity flavors and two versions -- hard and soft and chewy. As you might imagine, the main ingredient in Now and Later candies is sugar. As excessive sugar consumption is associated with weight gain and heart disease, it's important to save candy for the occasional treat.
Sugar, Fat and Red No. 40
The ingredients list puts corn syrup, sugar and hydrogenated soybean oil or fat first for both hard and soft Now and Later taffies. The rest of the ingredients list for hard taffies includes citric acid, salt, soy lecithin, artificial flavors, red No. 40, blue No. 1, yellow No. 5 and blue No. 2. Soft taffies have the same ingredients with the addition of egg white solids and potato starch. Those with milk allergies should be aware that Now and Later taffies do not contain any milk-derived ingredients but may contain traces of milk because they are manufactured in a facility where milk is used in the production of other products.
Nutrition Facts
Four pieces of hard Now and Later taffy have 60 calories, less than a gram of fat, 25 milligrams of sodium, 14 grams of carbohydrates and 11 grams of sugar. The same serving of soft taffy has 120 calories, no fat, 40 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrates and 20 grams of sugar.