WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health officials Friday repeated a warning to consumers about imported fruit-flavored gel candies that pose a choking hazard and have been linked to three deaths in the United States.

The candies, sold in individual "mini-cup" servings, have an ingredient called konjac and often contain a piece of embedded fruit.

Unlike gelatin products commonly made in the United States, the imported candies do not easily dissolve in the mouth and can therefore choking, the Food and Drug Administration said.

Children and the elderly are most at risk and are advised not to eat the candies, the FDA said. It also issued an alert to field inspectors to stop the candies at U.S. borders.

Janice Oliver, the FDA's deputy director for food safety, said three children have died in the United States since 2000 after choking on the candies. She said the products were sold under several brand names and most come from southeast Asia.

The FDA, which first warned the public about the hazard in August, said it was continuing to investigate. U.S. FDA renews warning Konjac also is known as conjac, konnyaku, yam flour or glucomannan.