Canberra, Australia

The director of an Australian company distributing mushroom gummies from the US, which led to hospitalisations due to symptoms like "disturbing hallucinations," has apologized, stating that this outcome was unintended.

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Following complaints of hospitalisations in New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria, Food Standards Australia New Zealand recalled two types of Uncle Frog's Mushroom Gummies on Wednesday.

The state health agency stated on Thursday that a teenage boy from South Australia was discovered unconscious earlier this month following his ingestion of many gummies. He had treatment and has since recovered.

According to NSW Health, at least five individuals have been hospitalised in NSW after suffering "unexpected toxicity" when taking the "cordyceps" and "lion's mane" varieties of the candies. A similar warning was sent by Victoria's health department.

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Oz Brands supplied Uncle Frog gummies. Rohan Bandil, the only director of both businesses, claimed he had extensively consulted on the product and that "many other brands selling similar products."

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"We are very sorry that this happened to them; it was not our intention," he told Guardian Australia on Thursday.

“We were just intending to bring the product and sell it in the Australian market as similar products have been extremely successful in the global market,” he said.

All purchases were shipped from Byron Bay, according to an old version of Uncle Frog's website, which has now been replaced with a notice regarding the recall.

Bandil was named as the only director and Brisbane as the primary place of business when the Uncle Frog firm was registered in late 2023. This June 12th, the corporation was deregistered.

The gummies were "free from CBD, CBN, and THC, and are 100% legal in Australia," according to the Australian website.

The gummies package urges users to "experience the multiverse" and claims to be "infused with earth's finest hemp" at "1,000mg per serve" - equivalent to one gram.

The Lion's Mane product claims to improve "memory and focus," while the Cordyceps package promises "natural energy and power."

After being informed by authorities over the existence of "novel" substances in the items, the team "immediately stopped sales and issued a recall notice." According to Bandil, all future orders had been cancelled.

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The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code governs all food sold in Australia. Cordyceps and lion's mane are considered "novel foods," which are prohibited from being sold as food or ingredients.

According to NSW Health, those who consumed the gummies had symptoms such as uncontrollable twitching and seizures, as well as unsettling hallucinations, anxiety, dizziness, losing consciousness, a racing heartbeat, nausea, and vomiting.

"The theory is that the product contains a substance of some kind that is causing these toxicity signs," the spokesperson stated.

(With inputs from agencies)