M&M McFlurries May Soon Be Cut From McDonald's ... So Get Your Last Licks

Sad news for M&Ms enthusiasts: The colorful candies that hold your heart might not be offered as mix-ins for McDonald's McFlurries or Dairy Queen Blizzards for much longer. 

According to NBC, Mars — the candy company behind M&Ms, Twix, Snickers and Milky Way — is considering pulling their chocolates from several restaurant chain desserts like the McDonalds' McFlurry, Dairy Queen's Blizzard and Burger King's Snickers Pie. 

An industry source disclosed to NBC that Mars feels uneasy because a single serving of these sorts of desserts exceeds the daily recommended intake for sugar. How thoughtful? 

The M&M McFlurry does indeed pack a walloping serving of sugar. A regular, 12-ounce cup contains 89 grams of sugar, while the snack size has 59 grams. Meanwhile, the regular Oreo McFlurry has 64 grams of sugar, compared to the snack size's 43 grams. (Not so virtuous, either, but it's all relative. Also, M&Ms end up turning the ice cream brown, while Oreos maintain a certain beauty.) 

Banning M&Ms from McFlurries may seem counterintuitive to selling more candy, but the move aligns with Mars' recent mission to support the government in keeping Americans' sugar intake in check. According to Fortune, Mars backed the USDA's proposal to include added sugars on nutrition labels. The new labels will go into effect in July 2018. 

The move to distance Mars from sugar-bombs like the McFlurry and the DQ Blizzard might be a smart one. Sugar is Public Enemy Number One in the health industry. By positioning itself as a government ally in cracking down on the American diet, Mars could benefit from public goodwill even if it loses out on some profits in the short term. 

A Mars spokesperson neither denied nor confirmed the alarming rumor.