Brightly colored washing capsules have become the cause of poisoning in hundreds of children in the United States.

Since February, Ontario’s poison control center has received calls from as many as 30 parents about children getting sick after chewing these pellets, according to media reports.

Similar cases were reported from Missouri 25; Illinois reported 26 and in Texas as many as 71 cases were reported.

"We're not quite sure why it's happening," said Dr. Kurt Kleinschmidt from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center to Daily Mail. "But we've clearly had some kids who have become much more ill. We look at these pods as being clearly more dangerous than the standard detergent."

"If you look at the Tide Pods, they're bright blue and bright red and they look very similar to some of the ribbon candy," said Julie Weber, director of the Missouri Poison Control Center in St. Louis.

Experts warn that these poisoning due to detergent capsules occur faster than other detergent poisonings.

"The children get sicker, more severe, and they do this quicker than what we've seen with standard liquid laundry exposure," said Dr. Michael Buehler of the Carolinas Poison Center.

"The packs themselves are safe, regardless of who manufactures them, provided that they are used for their intended purpose," said Paul Fox, a spokesman for Procter & Gamble. He said that all cleaning products must be handled carefully, reports Daily Mail.

"The risk becomes when they're left like any other household product within reach of small, inquisitive hands," he added.

"This is a new form of laundry product and we will continue to join other manufacturers to safeguard and educate consumers on the correct storage and use of these products in the home," Kiem Ho, vice president for marketing at Purex told AP. He said that the product's packaging comes with a keep-out-of-reach-of-children warning sign.

Reactions to these reports are same everywhere with many readers placing the blame of this type of poisoning on parents' negligence in letting children near these cleaners.