An urgent recall has been issued for Uncle Frog’s Mushroom Gummies after at least five people were hospitalised after consuming the goods in the past few months.
The NSW Food Authority has announced an urgent recall of all Uncle Frog’s Mushroom Gummies due to the “presence of unapproved novel food ingredients” that could “cause adverse symptoms if the product is consumed.”
The “unapproved” ingredients were the gummies’ main ingredients, lion’s mane and cordyceps.
The urgent recall comes after NSW Health issued a public health warning, reporting that at least five people in the state have been hospitalised since April 2024 for eating the gummies.
Patients suffered symptoms like nausea, seizure-like activity, anxiety, disturbing hallucinations, loss of consciousness, dizziness and a racing heartbeat, NSW Health reports.
“Investigations are ongoing as to what these products contain. We are strongly recommending that people do not consume these products,” Medical Director of the NSW Poisons Information Centre Dr Darren Roberts said.
Speaking to ABC News, Perth mother Laura Jones claimed that she’d taken the gummies in hopes of soothing her anxiety.
“I’m not one of these Byron Bay hippies that would ever take a hallucinogenic gummy,” she told the publication.
An hour after ingesting the product, the Perth woman claimed she experienced “disturbing symptoms” and had to be hospitalised.
“I had to be taken to hospital by ambulance. I was tachycardic, my heart rate was at 160,” Jones continued.
“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 honestly, like I was going to die. I was thinking, ‘What is going to happen to the kids?’”
Even weeks later, Jones said she felt the effects of the gummy, adding that her anxiety was heightened and that the experience left her “traumatised”.
“I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy,” she said.
As of writing, Uncle Frog’s social media accounts appear to be wiped, and its main website features a statement urging customers to refund or dispose of the product.
Its official Facebook account simply has a statement that reads: “We have currently permanently stopped the sales.”
Per the Guardian Australia, Uncle Frog said that it sourced its ingredients from the US and that it contained “many health benefits”. However, “consuming the whole bag” would make consumers “feel weird”.
Anyone who has eaten the gummies and is experiencing similar symptoms is asked to contact the NSW Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26, or if seriously ill call Triple Zero.
Image source: 9News.
