Pop Rocks

Pop Rocks, also known aspopping candy, is a type of candy owned by Zeta Espacial S.A.Pop Rocks ingredients includesugar,lactose(milk sugar), andflavoring. It differs from typical hard candy in that pressurizedcarbon dioxidegas bubbles are embedded inside of the candy, creating a small popping reaction when it dissolves.
The concept was initially patented byGeneral FoodsresearchchemistsLeon T. Kremzner andWilliam A. Mitchellon December 12, 1961 (U.S. patent #3,012,893),with a subsequent patent byGeneral FoodsresearchchemistsFredric Kleiner, Pradip K. Roy, and Michael J. Kuchman on September 15, 1981 (U.S. patent #4,289,794),
The candy was not offered to the public until 1976,before General Foods withdrew it in 1983, citing its lack of success in the marketplace and its relatively shortshelf life.
Distribution was initially controlled to ensure freshness; but with its increasing popularity, unauthorized redistribution from market to market resulted in out-of-date product reaching consumers. After that,Kraft Foodslicensed the Pop Rocks brand  toZeta EspacialS.A. which continued manufacturing the product under Kraft's license. Eventually, Zeta Espacial S.A. became the brand's owner and sole manufacturer. Pop Rocks is distributed in the U.S. by Pop Rocks Inc. (Atlanta, Georgia) and by Zeta Espacial S.A. (Barcelona, Spain) in the rest of the world. Zeta Espacial S.A. also sells popping candy internationally under other brands including Peta Zetas, Wiz Fizz, and Magic Gum.
In 2008, Marvin J. Rudolph, who led the group assigned to bring Pop Rocks out of the laboratory and into the manufacturing plant, wrote a history of Pop Rocks development.  The book, titledPop Rocks: The Inside Story of America's Revolutionary Candy, was based on interviews with food technologists, engineers, marketing managers, and members of Billy Mitchell's family, along with the author's experience. In the book, Rudolph points out that the Turkish company HLEKS Popping Candy flooded the market with popping candy in the year 2000.
A similar product,Cosmic Candy, previously calledSpace Dust, was in powdered form and was also manufactured by General Foods.
In 2012,Cadbury SchweppesPty. Ltd. (in Australia) began producing a chocolate product named "Marvellous Creations Jelly Popping Candy Beanies" which contains popping candy, jelly beans and "beanies" (candy-covered chocolate).By 2013, Whittakers (New Zealand) had also released a local product (white chocolate with a local carbonated drinkLemon and Paeroa). Prominent British chefHeston Blumenthalhas also made several desserts incorporating popping candy, both for the peculiar sensory experience of the popping and for the nostalgia value of using an ingredient popular in the 1970s.
As described by a 1980 patent, the candy is made by dissolving sugars in water and isevaporatedat 320 °F (160 °C) until thewater contentis 3% by mass.The water and sugar mixture is then cooled to 280 °F (138 °C), and while being intensely stirred, it is pressurized with carbon dioxide at 730 pounds per square inch [psi] (50 atm).The mixture is then kept under pressure and allowed to cool and solidify, embedding the carbon dioxide bubbles in the candy.The majority of the resultant carbon dioxide bubbles are between 225–350 micrometres (0.0089–0.0138 in) in diameter.When the pressure on the cooled and solidified candy is released, it shatters into pieces that vary in size.
Rumors persisted that eating Pop Rocks and drinkingsodawould cause a person's stomach to boil and explode.This was, in part, caused by the false assumption that Pop Rocks contain an acid/base mixture (such asbaking sodaandvinegar) which produces large volumes of gas when mixed through chewing and saliva.One of these myths involved child actorJohn Gilchrist(playing the character Little Mikey in 1970sLife cerealtelevision commercials), who was falsely rumored to have died after consuming excess amounts of Pop Rocks andCoca-Cola.
Though the confection had been extensively tested and found safe, the carbonated candy still alarmed residents inSeattle. TheFood and Drug Administrationset up ahotlinethere to assure anxious parents that the fizzing candy would not cause their children to choke.  General Foods was battling the "exploding kid" rumors as early as 1979. General Foods sent letters to school principals,created anopen letterto parents,took out advertisements in major publications and sent the confection's inventor on the road to explain that a Pop Rocks package contains less gas (namely,carbon dioxide, the same gas used in allcarbonated beverages) than half a can of soda.
The story has appeared in many other forms of media and fiction. On thevery first episode ofMythBusters,Adam SavageandJamie Hynemanput the Mikey rumor to the test by mixing six packs of Pop Rocks and a six-pack of cola inside a pig's stomach, complete with enoughhydrochloric acidto simulate the acid inside a human stomach. Despite the pig stomach growing to three times its initial size, it did not blow up even after time was allotted for digestion. In another stomach used as an experimental counterpart, only a large amount of sodium bicarbonate along with acid and soda (and without any Pop Rocks) was able to cause a gastric rupture.The broadcast included interview clips with Pop Rocks Inc. vice president Fernando Arguis explaining the candy and the myth, and Savage later alluded to the myth at a presentation atRensselaer Polytechnic Instituteby showing that Pop Rocks and soda—albeit in a smaller amount—in his own stomach was not fatal.