Eight people became sick after eating Diamond Shruumz-brand Microdosing Chocolate Bars , prompting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate the edibles.
“Do not eat, sell, or serve” the chocolate bars, the agency warned on Friday 7 June.
Consumers have reported getting sick across four states – Arizona, Indiana, Nevada, and Pennsylvania – after eating the bars, which contain a blend of “nootropic and functional mushrooms”. In all eight cases, people sought medical care, and six were hospitalized, reporting a range of “severe symptoms,” including seizures, loss of consciousness, agitation, abnormal heart rates, nausea, and vomiting.
No deaths have been reported, the FDA wrote. The last reported illness onset happened as recently as 3 June.
The FDA warned that young people could gravitate toward the edibles, as they are “marketed as a candy,” and urged caregivers to “take extra care to avoid this product being consumed by younger people”.
The colorfully packaged chocolate bars sell for $25 each and come in a variety of flavors, like birthday cake, cookies and cream, dark chocolate, and fruity cereal. The company website says the bars are filled with “our primo proprietary blend of nootropic and functional mushrooms, and a generous amount of cinnamon rice cereal” and each block is made up of 15 “trippy little squares”.
The site also provides lab analyses of each edible, showing psychedelics like psilocin or psilocybin are “not detected” in each chocolate bar.
The microdosing bars can be purchased online as well as in-store nationwide at smoke shops and at “retailers that sell hemp-derived products such as cannabidiol (CBD) or delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-8 THC),” the FDA wrote.
The agency said the investigation into the cause of these illnesses is ongoing.
“If you become ill after consuming these chocolate bars, please contact your healthcare provider and/or call the Poison Help Line at 1-800-222-1222,” the federal agency said.
The Independent has contacted Diamond Shruumz for comment.
