- It's a flavor combination only a kid could love -- grape
and sour-apple sherbet, with popping candies sprinkled throughout.
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- But a kiddie-size scoop of the stuff landed an Alamo
girl in the hospital in May after that candy popped in her tummy, not on
her tongue.
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- Now, (name witheld) is suing Baskin-Robbins on behalf of
her 5-year-old daughter, who had to be hospitalized to relieve the internal
pressure her lawyer says was caused by Pop Rocks candy.
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- (name witheld) took her daughter, (name witheld), and several other children
for after-school ice cream May 1. When they got to the Alamo Baskin-Robbins,
(name witheld) wanted a "Shrek Swirl," one of several promotional treats
inspired by the popular summer movie.
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- She swallowed every bit because, well, she's 5, pointed
out the family's attorney, Barry Balamuth of Orinda.
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- "She didn't chew it thoroughly," he said. "A
child doesn't know about Pop Rocks."
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- Pop Rocks, small candy chips processed with carbon dioxide,
start to fizz when placed on the tongue. Balamuth said they are the brand
used in "Shrek Swirl."
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- (name witheld)'s Pop Rocks started to fizz as her mother put her
down for a nap after they returned home from the ice cream parlor, Balamuth
said.
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- "She woke up from her nap screaming in pain,"
Balamuth said.
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- (name witheld) rushed (name witheld) to John Muir Regional Medical
Center with a "horribly swollen stomach," Balamuth said. Her
pediatrician said unequivocally that the problem was caused by the candy.
Doctors had to insert a tube into her stomach to remove the air.
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- (name witheld), who had no previous history of stomach problems,
remained in the hospital for two-and-a-half days, he said.
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- The (name witheld)s asked Baskin-Robbins to pull the "Shrek
Swirl" from the market.
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- "They refused. That's why we filed this suit,"
Balamuth said. "Money, as far as they're concerned, is beside the
point. They are absolutely livid about this ice cream and what it did to
their daughter."
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- The lawsuit, filed in Contra Costa Superior Court, seeks
medical expenses and unspecified damages.
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- Massachusetts-based Baskin-Robbins does not comment on
litigation, said spokeswoman Debra Newton.
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- The swirl is part of Baskin-Robbins' heavily promoted
tie-in with the animated movie "Shrek."
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- Packets of Pop Rocks, popular decades ago, have made
a comeback in recent years. Urban legends that eating Pop Rocks with soda
will cause a person to explode are discussed on a Pop Rocks Web site. The
candy is produced in Spain for Chupa Chups, an Atlanta company. The Pop
Rocks trademark is held by Kraft Foods.
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- "Ingesting them could induce nothing worse in the
human body than a hearty, non-life-threatening belch," the Web site
explains.
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- Blamuth said he may add the Pop Rocks candy company to
the lawsuit.
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