Families in almost every German state have reported dangerous metal objects hidden in Halloween sweets, prompting police investigations and warnings to parents. Reports involve chocolate bars, chewy candies, fruit gums and wafer snacks. Similar discoveries were also made public in Austria.
Cases have been reported in every German state except Hamburg and Saarland. In Filderstadt near Stuttgart, two families found several needles inside milk-and-hazelnut wafer snacks. The needles were not visible from the outside, and one mother discovered them after checking her daughter’s candy with a magnet.
Police also reported screws in chewy sweets and chocolate bars in Landshut. A nine-year-old girl in Hanover found a sewing needle in each of three individually wrapped products: one chocolate bar and two chewy candies. Further needle discoveries were reported in Nuremberg, Neuburg, Leinefelde-Worbis and Herbsleben. In the Konstanz district, individually wrapped wafer snacks contained metallic foreign objects.
In Essen, a father noticed suspicious puncture marks in the wrapper of a chocolate bar received by his 13-year-old son. He later found a sharp needle hidden inside. Other reports from the city involved metal pins in a chocolate bar and in a bag of fruit gums.
Police have so far reported one case in which a child was injured. A girl in Lower Saxony was hurt by a tampered chocolate bar. In the other reported incidents, the objects were found before the sweets were eaten. Authorities said it was not yet possible to establish a complete overview of the affected products or locations.
Police in several places suspect that the needles and other objects were deliberately inserted into the sweets. However, investigators have not established who was responsible, what the motive was or whether the incidents are connected. One suspected tampered chocolate bar was reportedly bought at a Lidl supermarket in Garbsen rather than collected during Halloween visits. Lidl said it was working closely with investigators and its supplier, adding that it took the report very seriously.
Sharp objects can cause severe internal injuries if swallowed, including damage to the esophagus, stomach or intestines. The German Federal Working Group for More Safety for Children advises parents to seek immediate medical attention if they suspect that a child has swallowed an object such as a sewing needle.
Police recommend checking Halloween sweets before they are eaten, including looking for punctures or other signs of tampering. Because some objects may not be visible from the outside, an intact wrapper does not guarantee that a product is safe.
Suspicious sweets should not be eaten. Police advise families to keep the product, its packaging and any foreign object, and to report the matter to the local police station. Possible foreign objects should not be removed if this can be avoided, so that evidence is preserved. At the same time, authorities have urged parents not to panic, noting that ordinary symptoms such as a headache or nausea do not necessarily indicate that a child ate tampered candy.
Metal objects have also been found in Halloween sweets in Germany in previous years, including a two-centimeter nail discovered in a child’s candy in Middle Franconia in 2025. Police said, however, that the number of current reports across the country was particularly notable.
Sources: Süddeutsche Zeitung.