The 54-year-old man suffered a sudden cardiac arrest.

He was at the time in a fast food restaurant and should not have shown any symptoms in advance.

According to the BBC, a few weeks before his death, the man had changed his usual consumption of sweets - from red fruit sticks to another type made of black licorice.

He is said to have consumed about one and a half bags per day (however, it is not clear how much the bags contain).

Licorice caused death

In a scientific article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Elazer R Edelman writes that glycyrrhizinic acid, found naturally in sweet licorice, caused the death.

He writes, among other things, that the substance can cause hypertension (high blood pressure), hypokalaemia (potassium deficiency), metabolic alkalosis (acid-base disorder), heart rhythm and kidney failure - and that all this was found in the patient.

Another doctor confirms the link between the high liquorice consumption and the death.

50 grams of licorice - risk consumption

According to the Medical Products Agency, there is a risk of side effects in sensitive people who regularly eat 50 grams of licorice candy or more per day.

Children are more sensitive than adults due to lower body weight and are therefore recommended not to eat licorice regularly.

People with high blood pressure, heart failure, kidney disease and pregnant women are also among possible risk groups.

That high licorice consumption leads to death, however, is unusual.

- That you die from too much licorice intake is very rare.

During my 25 years as a doctor, I have never encountered anything like this, says Håkan Fureman who works as an endocrinologist at Östersund Hospital.

Gives effect on blood pressure

He also does not think that you should be worried if you eat licorice from time to time.

- If you know that you are a high consumer, you should review your intake and count on it.

If you are worried, you can control your blood pressure, it usually gives an early rise in blood pressure if you take too large amounts, he says.

There are currently no limit values ​​for glycyrrhizinic acid in Sweden.

However, for foods that contain high levels of the substance, there are rules on how they should be labeled on the packaging.