The cannabis found in Haribo cola candies did not get there during production. The candy manufacturer reported this Friday after investigating the source of the contamination.
A Haribo spokesperson said that independent tests were carried out by a laboratory. “During the investigation, stored production samples of the potentially affected batch were tested, as were the raw materials used and products already on the Dutch market.”
The test results were all negative and, according to the spokesperson, indicate the absence of contamination. “Our internal investigations also confirm that no irregularities were found in our production processes.”
Haribo reports that according to the “local authorities” there are no indications that the contamination took place within the candy manufacturer’s production sites.
How the soft drugs did end up in the candies remains unclear. “We are working closely with the authorities to find out whether there is another explanation for these reports,” said the Haribo spokesperson.
The reports concerned one specific product in the east of the Netherlands, after which the candy manufacturer recalled the entire batch. It concerned kilo bags of Haribo Happy Cola F!ZZ with a best before date of January 2026. Ziekenhuisgroep Twente (ZGT) reported this week that two children of toddler and preschool age became ill after eating these candies. One of them even ended up in a coma for a short time.