Another Case Reported

Needle Found in Halloween Chocolate: Scandal Spreads

The next case in Austria, this time in Salzburg(Bild: zulfiska - stock.adobe.com)

Chocolate laced with foreign objects has been found in yet another state. Following Upper Austria, Lower Austria, and Styria, a case has now also been reported in Salzburg. As before, please exercise extra caution and check carefully before eating!

So far, one case has been reported in Lower Austria. On Monday, a 10-year-old girl suffered a minor mouth injury after biting into a mini chocolate bar that contained a hidden needle. There is also one case in Salzburg. Two cases have been reported in Upper Austria, and four in Styria.

Here’s what to do

 

• The Austrian police have warned parents and guardians to carefully inspect the candy collected on Halloween night together with their children before eating it.
• In particular, they should check whether the packaging has been damaged or tampered with and whether there are any foreign objects—especially metal objects—inside the candy.
• At the same time, people are urged to remain calm. Health complaints such as headaches, nausea, or feeling unwell can have various causes and are not necessarily related to the consumption of potentially tampered candy.
• If you find candy that appears to have been tampered with, keep it along with its packaging and report it to the police. To preserve potential evidence for the criminal investigation, do not remove any foreign objects from the candy or tamper with it in any other way.

 

In the federal states of Vienna, Burgenland, Carinthia, Tyrol, and Vorarlberg, no such reports have been filed so far.

A special task force has since been established to investigate the case and is now hunting down the perpetrators. 

Possible Links via Social Media
Similar incidents have also been reported in Germany: “There are cases in practically all federal states in Germany, and there is also a case in Hungary,” said Gerald Tatzgern, head of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BK) department. Similar cases have also been reported in Canada. For example, candy containing metal objects was found in two municipalities in the province of Ontario. Cases have also been reported from the province of Quebec. Not least because of the modus operandi and the widespread nature of the cases, investigators are also looking into the possibility that the perpetrators are connected via the internet or social media.