Mansfield: Arrest as 'mystery' market chocolate makes children ill

Ian said he bought 10 bars of the chocolate for his children on Saturday

A woman has been arrested after chocolate sold on a market stall made people ill.

Police launched an investigation following reports people fell unwell after eating unlabelled chocolate bought at Mansfield Market in Nottinghamshire on Saturday.

They included a 10-year-old boy who was taken to hospital.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said the arrest was linked to the sale of a chocolate product called "Cali-Gold".

It added it was working with relevant authorities to find out whether there had been wider distribution of the product.

Nottinghamshire Police said the 63-year-old woman was detained on suspicion of administering a noxious substance.

People have been warned not to eat "Cali-Gold" chocolate bars

One family said their 10-year-old son was taken to hospital after having a "terrifying" reaction to the chocolate.

Ian told the BBC he had purchased 10 bars of what was being sold as "mystery" chocolate, which came in gold wrapping without any writing on.

That evening his wife Kim gave the confectionery to Amelia-Ann, 13, Jacob, 12, Issacc, 10, and Emilie-Natasha, eight, as a treat but said they soon began feeling sick, hallucinating and acting "spaced out".

"My youngest daughter only had a little bit and just generally felt sick but didn't seem too bad," she said.

"Issacc, he was delirious, he was confused, he kept staring at his hands and he was stroking my walls. He kept seeing a dark figure, hallucinating."

Issacc was taken to hospital in an ambulance after eating the chocolate

She said Amelia-Ann became "very giddy and confused" and was crying, talking in a nonsensical way and felt sick and dizzy, while Jacob was acting "spaced".

When Issacc, who has ADHD and autism, began to worsen Kim called an ambulance and he was taken to hospital.

"It sounded like he was choking, a gargling kind of noise," she said.

"He couldn't speak to us, his tongue was sticking out of his mouth, he went all floppy, he just wasn't with it."

Kim said she suspected the chocolate straight away.

"It was the only thing that they all had and it all happened in a similar time, one after the other," she said.

Police are investigating along with Mansfield District Council and the FSA

Kim's brother Kylyn, 30, said he and his 11-year-old daughter also fell ill after eating the chocolate on their way home from Mansfield Market.

"When it first kicked in for me, I felt like I was rushing, I genuinely felt like I'd had a party drug," he said.

"I had to go into my bedroom and my toes were curling, my jaw was grinding.

"It then started going into a doped out feeling and I started being sick."

The next day his daughter was violently sick and "crying in pain with her belly" so he called for an ambulance and she was taken to hospital.

The family has reported the incident to police and Trading Standards.

'Seek medical attention'

Det Insp Luke Todd, from Nottinghamshire Police, said: "Tests are in the process of being carried out but at present there is no evidence to support claims that the chocolate bars contained any illicit drugs."

Tina Potter, head of incidents at the FSA, said: "We are working with local authorities, the UK Health Security Agency and Nottinghamshire Police to investigate an incident following reports of illness after eating Cali-Gold chocolate. 

"If you have purchased Cali-Gold chocolate from Mansfield Market in Nottinghamshire you should not consume the product and dispose of it at home.

"If you have already eaten it and developed symptoms, then you should urgently seek medical attention."

Dr Kakoli Choudhury, a consultant in communicable disease control at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) East Midlands, said: "The small number of people who became unwell have fully recovered.

"Investigations are ongoing about what may have caused the illness."

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