7 more children fall ill after ingesting Aqua Dots beads

U.S. officials said Friday there areseven more reports of childrenfalling illafter ingesting AquaDotstoy beads containing a powerful chemical that metabolizes into a potent date-rape drug.

The children were treated in hospitals in Texas, Delaware, New Hampshire, Illinois and Utah after ingesting beads from Aqua Dots craft kits,said a spokeswoman with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.On Thursday, U.S. officials had confirmed two associated cases of children being hospitalized.

Officials in North America and Australia pulled the toys, called Bindeez in Australia and Aqua Dots in North America, after testing showed the toys' beads contained 1,4-butanediol, a potentially harmful chemical that can cause seizures, drowsiness, coma and death.

The packaging says the toy contains 1,5-pentanediol, a non-toxic chemical commonly used in glue, according to Australia's Minister for Fair Trading.

In Australia, four children were hospitalized after ingesting beads from the Bindeez toys. No illnesses have been reported in Canada.

Toronto-based distributor Spin Master Ltd. has issueda North American recall of about 4.2 million Aqua Dots toys.