When Australian mum Lisa Brincat, 29, gave her seven-year-old daughter Lana a Warhead as an after dinner treat, she didn’t expect the injury that would quickly follow.
It was the first time Lana had ever tried a Warhead and within minutes she suffered a severe burn to her tongue.
Brincat exclusively told The Motherish, “It was the first war head she ever had a Warhead, I gave it to her to try. She popped it into her mouth, we joked about the faces she was pulling then she sat down to eat it and watch TV.”
While Brincat wasn't sure exactly how long Lana was sucking on the lolly, she explained, "She [Lana] was eating it for about five to ten minutes before complaining her tongue hurt." Brincat was also unsure of whether Lana left the lolly in one place or had been moving it around her mouth.
Warhead Sour Candies are an incredibly hard, super-sour lolly that are popular amongst kids. The ingredient 'malic acid' creates the extreme sour taste, being marketed as an 'extreme candy' by makers Impact Confections.
The Motherish previously reported that the company challenges children to compete to see who can eat the most at once and hang on through the intense sour layers before the inner sweeter layers come through. Their website is filled with the results of these competitions.
Yet while children have allegedly suffered tongue burns following these 'challenges', Bincat says her daughter was doing no such thing when the injury occurred.
In fact, Brincat had never heard of such thing. "Lana was definitely not playing this game," Brincat explained. "It was the first time she had tried one and I was with her when she was eating it."
Brincat says the lolly Lana consumed was blue in colour. It took approximately three days for the burn to heal, with Lana finding it difficult to eat her breakfast the following morning after the burn occurred.
Brincat explained, "Lana complained that it hurt like a blister, she sucked on some ice that night. The next morning she also complained that she couldn’t eat her breakfast properly. She didn’t complain further from there."
Brincat says she certainly won't be letting Lana eat anymore Warheads as she believes, "A lolly should never have that affect on a child's mouth." Brincat had not been aware of Warheads causing such injuries until she had given one to Lana.
In a suggestion to all parents, Brincat says, "I would warn parents not to let any children have the lolly. I do not believe an edible substance should have that result especially without a warning label."
While Impact Confections, does provide a warning on their label, it does not cover the injury suffered by Lana. Impact Confections warn against a 'temporary irritation' after eating 'multiple pieces within a short period'. Lana had only consumed one lolly and temporary irritation doesn't seem to cover a severe burn that took three days to heal.
"From what I can tell it is the 'sour coating' which has that affect and whether it happens depends on how much of that coating is on the lolly. I do know that there are suppose to be stronger versions of that lolly so I can only imagine what they would do," Brincat concluded.
We sought comment from , Impact Confections but have yet to hear back from them.
Has your child ever had a burn on their tongue from eating a Warhead?
TAP on the image below and scroll through the gallery for all of the Warhead flavours...
