ARS TECHNICA – More people have reported severe poisonings in an ongoing outbreak marked by people seizing and needing to be intubated after consuming microdose candies made by Diamond Shruumz, the Food and Drug Administration reported Tuesday.
There are now at least 12 reported cases across eight states. All 12 people were ill enough to seek medical care, and 10 needed to be hospitalized.
The symptoms reported so far include seizures, central nervous system depression (loss of consciousness, confusion, sleepiness), agitation, abnormal heart rates, hyper/hypotension, nausea, and vomiting, the FDA reported.
In Tuesday’s update, the FDA also expanded the products linked to the illnesses. In addition to all flavors of Diamond Shruumz’s Microdosing Chocolate Bars, the agency’s warning now covers all flavors of the brand’s Infused Cones and Micro Dose and Macro Dose Gummies.
According to the FDA, the most recent case fell ill on June 9. On June 7, the FDA issued its initial warning on Diamond Shruumz’s chocolates, reporting that eight people had been sickened in four states, with six people hospitalized. The agency advised the public not to sell, serve, buy, or consume the chocolates and instead discard them.
The company says that its candies contain a “primo proprietary blend of nootropic and functional mushrooms.” Nootropics are compounds said to affect cognition, though supplement makers have used the term dubiously in marketing.
The candies are available nationwide. They are sold online—where they remain available for purchase as of Tuesday evening …
BETH MOLE is Ars Technica’s Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes.
