Hong Kong’s food safety watchdog has told businesses to temporarily remove a cola-flavoured Haribo product from their shelves as a precautionary measure, following the discovery of cannabis in a batch of the popular sweets in the Netherlands and an import suspension by Taiwan.
In a reply to the Post, a government spokesman said on Sunday that the Centre for Food Safety was taking action due to the findings overseas, despite no local reports of illness linked to the Haribo Happy Cola F!ZZ sweets.
“There have been no reports of discomfort among residents in Hong Kong from consuming the cola-flavoured gummies,” the statement said.
“However, in response to foreign reports and as a precautionary measure, the Centre for Food Safety of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has assisted in notifying the industry to temporarily remove the brand’s gummies from shelves.”
The centre said stores were advised to remove “all the products (disregard of batches) of the relevant brand temporarily”. Authorities declined to clarify whether the recall affected all types of Haribo products.
The government said it would conduct tests on the recalled gummies and continue to monitor the situation.
“If any problems are found, corresponding actions will be taken and announcements will be made,” the spokesman added.
