Dubai: Dubai Police on Tuesday quashed a rumour about a popular candy, that a WhatsApp message called “strawberry quick”, contained narcotics.
Colonel Eid Mohammad Thani Hareb, director of the Anti-Narcotics Department, said, “These pills do not contain any narcotics. They are some form of candy, and we have not received any reports from any schools about such a thing.”
Every new school year, he said, similar rumours start spreading, and parents panic and share the messages without checking if they are true.
“Parents should check the authenticity of such messages before sharing them, they can call their child’s school and ask or call the anti-narcotics department on 800400400,” he said.
The candy is not actually called “strawberry quick” as the rumour said, but police refrained from using the commercial name of the pill, as they said they do not want to promote it.
Dr Fuad Tarbah, senior forensic toxicologist and director of Training, Research and Development Department at Dubai Police’s Forensics Science and Criminology Department, said the candy has a compound called miraculin, which is a glycoprotein that is extracted from a fruit belonging to the berry family, called miracle fruit.
The fruit is common in West Africa and was discovered in the 17th century he said.
“Miraculin binds to the tongue’s taste buds that helps us taste sourness and bitterness and enhances those that help us taste sweetness. So, after one eats the candy, if they eat something sour like a lemon, it tastes sweet. But it has no psychotropic effect and has no effect on the central nervous system,” he explained.
The effect he said lasts for 30 minutes, as saliva washes it away.
“It was used to help cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, as chemotherapy results in a constant metallic taste in the patient’s mouth. This sometimes led to the patients not eating and getting weaker. This candy helped counter the taste, which helped them eat,” Dr Tarbah said.
He said those pills are safe, however, like anything that is misused, this candy could have other negative effects if taken in large quantities.
