Recently, a candy which looks like a lightbulb has become popular on the Internet however, as intriguing as it looks, it bears a large safety concern, especially to children.
In November, a netizen posted a picture of himself swallowing the lightbulb candy on Weibo, making his face look quite goofy. The description read “Bought for my friend, and it was really stuck in my mouth.”
The Weibo went viral instantly and inspired more netizens to follow the example and post their ‘hilarious’ pictures on the Internet. Some bloggers even livestreamed the process of swallowing the candy, which attracted quite a crowd.
With Christmas drawing near, sales of this lightbulb candy have increased significantly, with many buying it as a Christmas prank gift. Some stores on Taobao have sold over 4,000 in under one month.
Despite the popularity of the candy, many worry about the safety of the product. Chen Nan, a class teacher from Xi’an Middle School, is one of them. “I have seen students taking the candy to school before and I asked them to discard it promptly. It is too dangerous. What if a child suffocates with it?” says Chen.
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Is the candy really dangerous as the teacher says? “Out of the question,” assures one of the sellers on Taobao. “It is just candy. Even if the candy is stuck in the mouth at first, customers can wait till the candy melts. It won’t take long before the candy is small enough to be taken out of the mouth.”
However, according to Chen Zheng, doctor from Department of Oral Medicine of Putuo Hospital, what the seller tells isn’t completely true. “In spite of the fact that the candy can melt within minutes, the syrup produced during the process along with the saliva may stick to the esophagus and result in suffocation.”
To make things worse, since the majority of the candy is sold on the Internet, there is no guarantee that it is produced in a clean and hygienic environment, or what ingredients are actually used to produce it.
For now, there are no reported incidents related to the lightbulb candy, but why place yourself or your children in danger. It’s better to stay away and not follow the trend.
