Online Platforms Told To Cease Gummy Candy Ads

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The health ministry banned the sale of the eyeball-shaped gummy candy on Friday after the choking incident involving Year 4 pupil Fahmi Hafiz Fakhruddin. (Facebook pic)
PETALING JAYA: The health ministry wants online platforms to immediately cease the sale of gummy candy similar to the ones that a Year 4 pupil had choked to death on.
Health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said the ministry is working closely with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to ensure that all advertisements for the product are taken down.
“We have told e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and TikTok to remove any ads promoting the candy.
“District health officers nationwide have also been directed to carry out enforcement checks at premises and seize any remaining products being sold,” Utusan Malaysia quoted him as saying after an event in Langkawi today.
The ministry announced on Friday that it has banned the eyeball-shaped candy, after Fahmi Hafiz Fakhruddin, 10, choked on an item he bought outside SK Sungai Dua in Butterworth on Tuesday.
Fahmi was left in a critical condition and died in hospital on Thursday night.
The ministry said the candy violated food labelling regulations under the Food Act 1983 and Food Regulations 1985 as it lacked a warning on choking hazards.
“Malaysian law mandates that ‘controlled jelly confectionery’ with a diameter of 45mm or less must carry a choking hazard warning, especially for children under three.
“The ministry has prohibited the sale of the product in the domestic market and on online platforms,” it said in a statement. - FMT

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