Activated charcoal has been buzzy within the wellness world for years, popping up in a complete bunch of merchandise—from facial cleansers to deodorants—and promising a slew of advantages, from unclogging pores to “detoxing” your physique.

Now, we’re seeing it play a unique position: turning varied meals and drinks pitch-black for Halloween. There are charcoal-colored sprinkle cookies, spooky black margaritas with an orange Tajin rim, charcoal-and-turmeric bagels, and even pumpkin pizza with a charcoal crust. The pure black meals coloring appears to show all the things into the right shade of inky black.

However the treats could include an unintended trick: Activated charcoal can work together with sure medicines, inflicting them to work much less successfully…or by no means. Should you’re interested by whipping up black cocktails or cupcakes this Halloween, right here’s what you must know concerning the attainable dangers of utilizing activated charcoal to get the job achieved.

What’s activated charcoal…and what’s it doing in your icing?

Activated charcoal is a advantageous black powder that’s made by burning varied substances like coconut shells, nut shells, or wooden, then “activating” it by heating it together with a gasoline. This processing creates a bunch of pores within the charcoal, which might help entice chemical compounds that come into contact with it.

That brings us to its predominant profit: “Activated charcoal is usually used within the remedy of acute poisonings or after unintended ingestion of medicines or different substances,” Sarah Mersek, PharmD, a drug info pharmacist on the Cleveland Clinic, tells SELF. Mainly, it soaks up the unhealthy stuff and prevents it from getting absorbed into your bloodstream. The identical pores make activated charcoal a useful ingredient in magnificence merchandise, too, since they assist substances stick collectively and “act like a magnet for filth, oil, and different impurities,” Sejal Shah, MD, a dermatologist at Actual Self in New York Metropolis, beforehand advised SELF. (What it received’t do? Take away toxins out of your physique, as SELF debunked again in 2017—your liver and kidneys do a great job of that on their very own.)

Then there’s activated charcoal’s most seasonal use as a meals coloring. Usually, the powdered type offered for that is produced from coconut shells, and its inky, saturated shade is just nice for turning issues black—a spooky-season profit that doesn’t have something to do with its behind-the-scenes absorption work.

What are the potential dangers of utilizing activated charcoal in meals?

Consuming activated charcoal within the short-term is “seemingly” secure, and consuming it often within the long-term is “probably” secure too, in response to the Nationwide Institutes of Well being. Although in both case, it will probably trigger not-so-pleasant unwanted side effects like constipation and black poop.