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A popular Australian brand of mushroom gummies has been recalled after users were hospitalised with symptoms including “disturbing hallucinations”, dizziness and involuntary twitching.

Authorities claim Uncle Frog’s Mushroom Gummies contained ‘unapproved novel food ingredients’, but the company states ‘consuming the whole bag could make people feel weird’.

Besides making people feel a bit weird, the product has caused several of its users to end up in hospital with severe side effects, including a teenage boy who was found ‘unresponsive’ earlier this month after consuming several of the gummies. He was treated and has since fully recovered.

New South Wales Health had earlier issued a warning on Wednesday night for people not to consume the gummies.

Since April at least five people have been hospitalised after experiencing “unexpected toxicity” when consuming the “cordyceps” and “lion’s mane” flavours.

Symptoms included seizure-like activity and involuntary twitching, disturbing hallucinations, anxiety, dizziness, loss of consciousness, a racing pulse, nausea and vomiting, NSW Health said.

“We are strongly recommending that people do not consume these products. If you have these products, dispose of them safely, away from children and pets to avoid accidental consumption.”

A Perth woman said she began experiencing “disturbing symptoms” an hour after taking the gummies.

“It was the weirdest thing I had ever experienced. I felt really out of my body and I lost my short-term memory. It was a feeling of impending doom …

“I felt, in all honesty, like I was going to die. I was thinking, ‘What is going to happen to the kids?’”

The NSW chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, said the investigation underway was quite complex, but the hypothesis is that there is some sort of substance in the product that is leading to the toxicity. According to the authorities, people have become sick despite only using a small quantity of the product.

“Investigations are under way to try and determine what is contained in these products that may be making people become unwell.”

A recall notice has been issued, noting that “Consumers should not eat this product.”

Mushroom gummies have left at least five people hospitalised across NSW.

A public health warning has been issued after patients reported symptoms like nausea, seizure-like activity, anxiety, disturbing hallucinations, loss of consciousness, dizziness and a racing heartbeat.… pic.twitter.com/DR9XGv0f5M

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The gummies’ packaging encourages customers to “experience the multiverse”, claiming they are “infused with earth’s finest hemp” at “1000mg per serve” – equal to one gram.

The lion’s mane flavour claims to support “memory and focus”, while the cordyceps boasts that it provides “natural energy and power”. Instead, users seemed to be treated to twitching and psychedelic terror.

On Wednesday, Uncle Frog’s website and social media appeared to have been taken down, but archived pages said it was a Byron Bay-based business offering products including “a unique, trademarked blend of natural ingredients designed to provide an elevated experience”.

“They are free from CBD, CBN, and THC, and are 100% legal in Australia.”

The company however confirmed it had permanently stopped sales and was recalling all its products nationwide.

Lion’s mane mushrooms are widely used in Asia as both food and traditional medicine.

Cordyceps is also a kind of fungus that has long been used in Chinese medicine and, more recently, by health brands, the fungus may have a severe impact on insects and can effectively transform them into zombies, taking over their bodies in order to spread spores.

You might remember Cordyceps as the fungi that inspired the TV series The Last of Us, which just about explains the twitching and disturbing hallucinations.

[source:guardian]