Man who eats bag of black licorice weekly sues Twizzlers over heart condition
FDA recently issued warning about natural sweetener in candy
FDA recently issued warning about natural sweetener in candy
FDA recently issued warning about natural sweetener in candy
A 73-year-old New Yorker is suing the Hershey Company, reports. He believes Twizzlers' black licorice contributed to his current heart condition.
According to the , David Goldberg, a self-described 鈥渉ealthy individual who is not obese鈥� and who 鈥渉as never had any heart conditions," has eaten at least one bag of Twizzlers black licorice every week for many, many years.
Last year, he was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation 鈥� a condition causing irregular and sometimes rapid heart rates, which increases chances of heart attacks and strokes 鈥� and put on medication for the condition. Though he's reportedly stopped eating the licorice, his condition hasn't improved.
Also last year, the issued an official warning specifically about black licorice, writing: "If you鈥檙e 40 or older, eating 2 ounces of black licorice a day for at least two weeks could land you in the hospital with an irregular heart rhythm or arrhythmia."
The statement continued:
FDA experts say black licorice contains the compound glycyrrhizin, which is the sweetening compound derived from licorice root. Glycyrrhizin can cause potassium levels in the body to fall. When that happens, some people experience abnormal heart rhythms, as well as high blood pressure, edema (swelling), lethargy and congestive heart failure.
In the lawsuit, Goldberg's representation claims, "[Twizzlers and the Hershey Company] knew for years that its black licorice candy posed a health threat." A Hershey's representative wouldn't comment to the Post on the specific case, though did say, "All of our products are safe to eat and formulated in full compliance with FDA regulations, including the agency鈥檚 regulation affirming the safety of licorice extract for use in food."