Trader Joe's warns shoppers about fiber-packed gummy worm side effects

Trader Joe’s employees were doing something unusual on the sales floor: warning shoppers that a bag of Sweet & Sour Gummy Worms Candies could lead to urgent bathroom trips. The private-label candy looked like a standard impulse buy, but its nutrition panel told a different story, and crews were stepping in before customers made the mistake of eating too much at once.

The 5-ounce bag sold for $3.99 and the company’s product page listed each serving as 8 pieces, or 29 grams. Each serving contained 35 calories, 0 grams of sugar, 14 grams of dietary fiber and 2 grams of sugar alcohols. The bag held about five servings, which meant eating the whole thing would deliver about 70 grams of fiber in one sitting.

That is a lot of fiber for a snack, and the ingredient list showed why. Trader Joe’s said the candy used resistant tapioca dextrin fiber, allulose, resistant corn maltodextrin fiber, organic erythritol, pectin and monk fruit extract. The company also said the worms got their colors from fruit and vegetable juices and their fruity flavor from strawberry juice concentrate and natural flavors. On paper, it was a zero-sugar treat. In practice, it became a lesson in how fast a candy aisle can turn into a digestive issue.

By May 23, store employees were already warning shoppers not to hand the worms to kids or treat the whole bag like a normal snack. The concern was not just the fiber count itself, but what happens when fermentable fibers and sugar alternatives are eaten in larger amounts. Health commentary linked that mix to gas, bloating, cramping and diarrhea, with allulose and erythritol also contributing to gastrointestinal effects.

The candy’s strange side effects spread far beyond Trader Joe’s stores. Posts on Reddit, Instagram and TikTok pushed the product into viral territory, with shoppers trading reaction videos and nutrition-label warnings. Lauren Uyehara was among the users whose posts helped the story travel quickly online, and by June 5 the gummy worms had become a cautionary tale about reading the label before opening the bag.

Trader Joe’s does give customers an escape hatch if a private-label item does not work out: its product FAQ says shoppers can bring items back for a refund or exchange. For crew members, though, the bigger issue was immediate. The label said zero sugar, the floor said caution, and the gap between the two turned a novelty candy into a live product-communication problem.