The FDA’s investigation into a deadly outbreak of illnesses traced to Diamond Shruumz edible microdosing products has been switched from active to “post-incident.”
The Food and Drug Administration is now focused on activities, which may include additional surveillance, as well as prevention and compliance activities.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting 180 patients with 73 hospitalizations and three deaths. The sick people were spread across 34 states. There could be more patients identified if additional people consume the implicated products. All patients had eaten Diamond Shruumz brand chocolate bars, cones or gummies before becoming ill. The products were distributed nationwide and online.
Testing has shown the edibles contain dangerous chemicals that have caused a variety of symptoms, including respiratory failure, seizures, central nervous system depression, loss of consciousness, abnormal heart rates, hyper/hypotension, nausea and vomiting.
All Diamond Shruumz-brand products have been recalled and should not be available for sale. If you know of a retailer, online or in-person, continuing to sell recalled Diamond Shruumz-brand product, you can report this information to the FDA.
Consumers are urged to check their homes for the recalled products and throw them away if they have them on hand.
Anyone experiencing adverse reactions after consuming recalled products is urged to seek medical attention immediately, especially if they have trouble breathing.
These products are marketed for “microdosing” and contain a blend of mushrooms that do not include magic mushrooms (psilocybin) or other hallucinogenic mushrooms. Products containing psychoactive compounds, such as mushroom extracts, are increasing in availability, and might contain undisclosed ingredients, including illicit substances, or potentially harmful contaminants that are not approved for use in food, according to the New Jersey Poison Center based at Rutgers University. The center reports even more illnesses than the FDA has recorded.
“Poison centers nationwide have received 198 reports of exposure, including 108 cases with more severe illness. Of the 108 cases with more severe illness, 91 sought medical attention,” according to a mid-October update from the center at Rutgers.
One of the chemicals found in the edibles is muscimol, which is particularly dangerous, but it cannot explain all of the symptoms experienced by patients in the outbreak, according to the FDA.
In addition to muscimol, FDA analyses of Diamond Shruumz brand edibles identified the presence of the following compounds:
Acetylpsilocin (also known as 4-acetoxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine, 4-acetoxy-DMT, O-acetylpsilocin, or psilacetin);
Psilocin, a Schedule I controlled substance;
Pregabalin, a prescription drug; Desmethoxyyangonin, dihydrokavain, and kavain (kavalactones found in the kava plant).
The results in a table found here show different compounds in different flavors of chocolate bars and cones. Even for the same flavor of chocolate bar or cone, there may be variations in the compounds present.
Although these compounds individually have known effects when ingested, less research exists on their interactions when ingested together. FDA and CDC medical officers interpret these test results to understand the health risks of consuming these chemical substances and determine the appropriate next steps.
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