Life Savers Holes Pulled From Stores Due to Packaging Fears

Life Savers Holes, a pellet version of the hard candies, are being withdrawn from stores nationwide after four teen-agers swallowed or gagged on the packages’ plastic tops, company officials said.

The youths, who had bitten off the hinged plastic flip top on the packages, were not hurt, the company said. The company, which is recalling the candies voluntarily, plans to design a safer package and have the candy back on store shelves by summer.

“Although there were no injuries, we were concerned that this misuse of the package could reoccur and represent a possible hazard,” said John Manfredi, a spokesman for Planters-Life Savers in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Like all other Life Savers products, Life Savers Holes are produced at the company’s plant in Holland. The candies were introduced last fall, and Manfredi said 40 million packages have been sold.

Forty-five of the tiny round candies are packed in a clear plastic tube about the size of a Life Savers roll. There is a flip top on one end.

The new package the company is considering would look the same but would have a stronger connection between the cap and the tube to prevent it from coming off even if it was chewed, Manfredi said.