CALL them the killer jellies.

Popular bite-sized cup jellies known as konnyaku or konjac have caused the deaths of 17 people in Japan, mostly young children and elderly people, since 1995.

The most recent victim was a 21-month-old Japanese boy. He died in July after eating a frozen jelly under the Konnyaku Batake brand. It had been given to him as a snack by his grandmother.

Read Debbie Yong's full story in tomorrow's edition of The Sunday Times.