A child who fell into a coma three weeks ago may have become unwell due to Haribo candy containing cannabis. The police confirm they are investigating the case following reports from RTL Nieuws. Previously, another child fell into a coma due to the poisoned candy.
The East Netherlands police are investigating the case because the other illnesses occurred in Twente. A police spokesperson can’t disclose any further details about this new case in the interest of the investigation.
It concerns a nine-year-old boy from Zeeland who suddenly became ill on May 23, his mother tells RTL Nieuws. He was in a coma for three days. Hospital tests showed that there was cannabis in his urine, the mother says. The child is now back home.
The child’s family linked it to the candy after Haribo’s recall on May 29. The family says they had the cannabis candy at home.
The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) confirms they visited the family. However, there were no more candies or packaging that the regulator could test. Since it happened at the end of May, the packaging had already been thrown away. “Unfortunately, that’s where it ends for us,” an NVWA spokesperson told NU.nl.
Two weeks ago, several children and an adult became ill after eating the cannabis candy. Two children of toddler and preschool age were taken to hospitals in Hengelo and Almelo. One of the two fell into a coma. Haribo called on people in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg to return the candy.