Hong Kong has withdrawn all Haribo sweets with cola flavour following the discovery of possible traces of cannabis in the sweets sold in Belgium and the Netherlands, while Taiwan has gone further by halting imports of all Haribo products from German factories.
A family from Twente in the Netherlands contacted the police last week after their children became "quite sick" from eating Haribo cola bottles. Subsequent investigations by Dutch police and the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority revealed traces of cannabis in three bags. Haribo has since recalled Happy Cola F!ZZ kilo bags with expiration dates up to January 2026.
Haribo recalled the same batch of sweets in Belgium after traces were found in the Netherlands. There have been no reports of people falling ill after eating the sweets in Belgium yet. The batch number of the product matches that of the sweets found to contain cannabis in the Netherlands.
According to local reports, Taiwan’s food safety authority, TFDA, has suspended the import of all gummies from German Haribo factories, noting that the issue seems to originate in Germany. Haribo also operates production lines in Turkey, among other locations.
Given the popularity of the sweets among children in Taiwan, the country has introduced heightened border checks. The import restriction will remain until it is confirmed that no contaminated sweets have reached Taiwan.
Hong Kong’s local food agency has decided to remove all cola-flavoured Haribo sweets from sale. Authorities will check these products for cannabis traces.
Haribo stated it is taking the matter seriously, emphasizing that the affected batch number was sold only in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The company described it as a limited issue and is cooperating closely with authorities to quickly identify the cause.
The stringent approach by Asian authorities may be linked to the region’s strict drug laws, which are among the toughest globally. In Hong Kong, cannabis use carries a maximum prison sentence of up to seven years, while in Taiwan, it is up to three years.
