Haribo has recalled its Happy Cola F!ZZ sweets in Netherland after local authority claimed that there are traces of cannabis in one of its product, stated recent reports.
Netherlands' Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) stated that several people, including children, suffered “health complaints, such as dizziness” after eating sweets from three 1kg packs of Happy Cola F!ZZ. A full recall had been undertaken as a precaution.
“How the cannabis ended up in the sweets is still unknown,” a spokesperson for the authority told the Dutch news agency ANP. “The police are investigating the matter further.”
The authority said the packs concerned were genuine Haribo products.
The case came into picture when a couple from the Twente region in the east of the country brought a pack of the cola-bottle-shaped sweets to their local police station after their young children had become “quite sick” after eating them.
Forensic testing established the presence of cannabis.
It led to a recall of the kilo bags of Happy Cola F!ZZ with an expiration date of January 2026. The bags have the production code L341-4002307906.
In the meantime, more people, including adults, appear to have become sick from the sweets, stated the police statement.
The investigation has now been designated as a so-called drug investigation. "We want to know exactly how this got into the candy," says police spokesperson Chantal Westerhoff. "And how the bags ended up in the store."
It is still unclear what the size of the contaminated batch of candy is. According to the NVWA, three bags of contaminated cola bottles have been found so far.
Haribo itself is also still in the dark about what happened to the contaminated batch of sweets. "We are taking this incident extremely seriously," says a spokesperson for the Dutch office.
"The investigation concerns a limited number of reports and one specific product in the east of the country. As a precaution, we have started a recall."
Statement from Haribo
Responding to the reports, the spokesperson of Haribo stated, "The incident is contained to the Netherlands, to a specific product and batch. HARIBO products in other markets are not affected.
"The safety of our consumers is our highest priority and HARIBO takes this incident very seriously, which is why a recall has been issued in the Netherlands.
"HARIBO is working closely with the authorities to support their investigation and establish the facts around the contamination."
