People have been hospitalised across Australia with symptoms including “disturbing” hallucinations, dizziness and involuntary twitching after ingesting mushroom gummies made by a Byron Bay business.
A South Australian teenage boy was found unresponsive earlier this month after consuming several of the Uncle Frog’s Mushroom Gummies, the state health department said on Thursday. He was treated and has since 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 across NSW after experiencing “unexpected toxicity” when consuming the “cordyceps” and “lion’s mane” flavours.
Victoria’s health department issued a similar warning on Thursday, confirming there had been “several” hospitalisations linked to consumption of the gummies in Victoria and interstate.
Symptoms included seizure-like activity and involuntary twitching, disturbing hallucinations, anxiety, dizziness, loss of consciousness, a racing pulse, nausea and vomiting, NSW Health said.
“Investigations are ongoing as to what these products contain,” said the medical director of the NSW Poisons Information Centre, Dr Darren Roberts.
“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.”
The NSW chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, urged people to take the warnings seriously and said the investigation under way was “quite complex”.
“We don’t know the substances, but the hypothesis is that there is some sort of substance in the product that is leading to these signs of toxicity,” she said.
She said the five patients had experienced “myriad symptoms” but the common factor was the consumption of gummies.
Dr Kimberly Humphrey, a South Australian public health medical consultant, said the “noted effects of these gummies are alarming”.
The Victorian health department said people had become unwell after consuming “even a small amount of these products”. “Investigations are under way to try and determine what is contained in these products that may be making people become unwell,” it said.
The gummies have been recalled Australia-wide by Oz Brands “due to the presence of unapproved novel food ingredients” which could cause adverse symptoms if consumed, Food Standards Australia New Zealand said.
“Consumers should not eat this product,” the recall notice states. “Consumers should return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund. Any consumers concerned about their health should seek medical advice.”
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 purports to support “memory and focus”, while the cordyceps boasts that it provides “natural energy and power”.
As of Wednesday night, the company’s website had been taken down and its Facebook and TikTok accounts wiped.
An archived version of Uncle Frog’s website 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 archived website read.
For the cordyceps gummies it recommended the consumption of “one gummy every 6-12 hours”.
In an email to Guardian Australia, Uncle Frog said it sourced cordyceps from the US and “it has many health benefits” but “consuming the whole bag could … sometimes make people feel weird”.
The company said it had “permanently” ceased sales and was recalling its products nationwide.
Perth woman Laura Jones told the ABC that within an hour of taking a gummy, she started experiencing disturbing symptoms.
“It was the weirdest thing I had ever experienced,” she said, having thought the gummies would help her anxiety. “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?’”
Cordyceps is a type of fungus with hundreds of species. Although it has been traditionally used in Chinese medicine and more recently by wellness brands, the fungi can have drastic effects on insects, particularly ants.
The fungi essentially turn them into zombies, taking over their minds and bodies and altering their behaviour to spread spores. The concept inspired the hit video game franchise and television series The Last of Us.
Lion’s mane mushrooms are also extensively used in Asian countries as food and traditional medicine.
NSW Health said it was working with other states to investigate.
In 2022, hallucinogenic spinach was recalled in Australia after crops were contaminated by the nightshade weed thornapple.
