No cannabis in Haribo cola sweets after all, forensic tests show

The mystery surrounding the “cannabis” found in some cola-flavoured Haribo sweets, which led to a nationwide recall, deepened on Wednesday when Dutch forensic institute NFI said there were no drugs in the sweets after all.

Earlier tests, not carried by the NFI, had indicated the presence of cannabis, but the institute now says this is not the case.

“This result is different to that of the indicative test carried out earlier and means that cannabis did not end up in the cola bottles anywhere in the Haribo process,” the NFI is quoted as saying.

It remains unclear what was in the sweets that led to two children being hospitalised, one of whom was reportedly in a coma. The sweets were all bought at branches of chemist chain Medikamente Die Grenze, which has 76 stores in the Netherlands.

Haribo said in a statement that it was “pleased” all the samples were negative, in line with an earlier report from the Dutch police. “The investigation is ongoing but this ends the involvement of Haribo,” the company said.

The Dutch product safety board earlier tested three one-kilo bags of the sweets and found traces of cannabis in all three. Two of the bags had been handed in to police, and the NVWA bought the third bag at the same location.

Cannabis “edibles”, often disguised as legitimate sweets, are a popular online buy and stories about children becoming ill after eating them are common.

In 2023, six children were taken ill while playing outside in The Hague after eating sweets containing THC, one of the active ingredients in cannabis. There is a type of THC fruit gum available which is very similar to the popular Haribo gummy bears.

The public prosecution department says it is continuing its investigation into what made the children ill.