FDA recalls more mini-jelly sweets
candies from a firm in California over fears that children could
choke on them.
US regulators said on Wednesday that they had seized mini-jelly candies from a firm in California over fears that children could choke on them.
The Food and Drug Administration said it had seized the sweets from New Choice Food at a company facility in Irwindale, California. Several firms had voluntarily recalled mini-jelly candies in the past several months, but New Choice Food had not, an FDA statement said.
The FDA warned last year that mini-jelly candies - the size of a single-serve coffee creamer - that contain the thickening agent konjac present a serious choking hazard, particularly for children and the elderly.US regulators have linked the deaths of six children to the mini-jelly candies - also known as mini-cup gel candies.
The seized products "pose an unacceptable risk to US consumers," FDA Deputy Commissioner Lester Crawford said in a statement.
Larry Pilot, an attorney who represents New Choice Foods, said the FDA's seizure was 'inappropriate, premature and without foundation.'New Choice Foods' mini-jelly candies are labeled as choking hazards and are 'no more dangerous' than various other food products on the market that pose a choking risk, Pilot said. The firm's candies included warnings against consumption by children under age 5, he added.
