LANGKAWI: The Health Ministry has ordered two online shopping platforms to remove advertisements promoting eyeball gummy candies after a boy in Penang allegedly died from choking on the sweets.
Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said that based on profiling, the ministry identified 86 advertisement links on the shopping platforms promoting the product, adding that the ministry's Food Safety and Quality Division instructed the platforms to take down the advertisements on Sunday (Feb 23).
"We also instructed district health offices across the country to conduct enforcement on physical premises and seize remaining products being sold," he said.
He spoke to reporters Sunday after launching the First 1,000 Days Of Life: Langkawi Longitudinal Study and Digitalisation using Cloud-Based Clinic Management System in Langkawi.
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The ministry previously issued a statement banning the sale of the eyeball-shaped gummy product on all online platforms and in the domestic market, adding that investigations found that the product breached the labelling requirements under the Food Regulations 1985 of the Food Act 1983 (Act 281).
On Thursday, the 10-year-old boy died at the Penang Paediatric Intensive Care Unit after allegedly choking on a gummy candy on Feb 18.
The Year Four student from Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Dua was believed to have bought the candy outside the school before attending his 2.30pm class. - Bernama
