Licorice manufacturers encouraged to state daily limit of consumption

A recent case study details the account of a 10-year-old boy who suffered seizures after over-indulging in licorice sweets. The boy was admitted to hospital in Bologna, Italy after suffering a 2 minute tonic-clonic seizure. A cluster of another three generalized seizures occurred in the next few hours. The boy also complained of a bad headache and had high blood pressure. Doctors discovered that he had been eating at least 20 licorice sweets each day for the past four months. This resulted in the consumption of 2.88 mg/kg of glycyrrhizic acid (one of the active ingredients of licorice), well above the World Health Organization's recommended maximum of 2 mg/kg.