Florida has become one of the most aggressive states in the medical-freedom and food-transparency movement. It’s banned water fluoridation, launched high-profile toxin testing of baby formula, candy and bread – while pushing to reduce vaccine mandates. 

A leader in the movement is Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo.

"I think we need a major rework of how we think about food and what's acceptable in terms of what people consume. It's ridiculous,” he recently told Full Measure. 

Ladapo came to the U.S. from Nigeria at age five, and earned a doctorate and medical degree from Harvard. 

It was in 2020 that he gained national attention while teaching and treating patients at the University of California, Los Angeles. He wrote opinion pieces criticizing the austere COVID-19 response measures, including lockdowns and mask mandates.

In 2021, Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis recruited him as state surgeon general. Now, he works alongside the governor’s wife on a Healthy Florida First initiative.

“I think we need more ground level work on why it is abnormal and more expensive to eat organically and well," Ladapo argues. "You know, why? Is it easier to put complete crap and, indeed, poison into your body? It's so sad."

Under Ladapo, Florida has begun doing what no government entity routinely does: test popular food to see what’s in it besides the approved and labeled ingredients.

“It’s astonishing that there is arsenic at high levels in many popular, very popular kids' candies,” he says. “And arsenic is a major and important risk factor for cancer. And it's a poison. I mean, it's extremely dangerous to be consuming arsenic.”

Testing detected arsenic in 28 candies sampled. The highest amount was in Tootsie Fruit Chew Lime, 570 parts per billion. The state says eight pieces in a year would put a child in the danger zone. Jolly Rancher Hard Candy Sour Apple was a close second at 540 ppb, followed by Nerds Gummy Clusters, 500 ppb; and Twizzlers Strawberry, 500 ppb, Cherry, 350 ppb and Watermelon, 510 ppb. 

Also making the arsenic list: some flavors of Sour Patch Kids, Nerds, SweeTarts, Kit Kats, Three Musketeers, Snickers, Skittles, Dots and Tootsie Rolls.

Ladapo says they did find candies that tested in the clear include: Hershey’s Milk Chocolate, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Whoppers, M&M’s, Twix, Milky Way, Annie’s Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks, Organic Black Forest Gummy Bears, Laffy Taffy Cherry, Smart Sweets Red Twists, and all tested UNREAL and Yum Earth products.

The National Confectioner’s Association says the state used the wrong type of test, inflating the results, and that “there is more arsenic in cucumbers, mushrooms, and cantaloupes than in candy.”

Florida also tested bread and baby formula. For more details, watch Sunday’s episode of Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson. 

Attkisson is the managing editor of Full Measure. Her most recent bestseller is "Follow the $cience: How Big Pharma Misleads, Obscures, and Prevails." She is also the author of bestsellers “Slanted,” “The Smear” and “Stonewalled”