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Lidl logo at a branch: investigations ended
Photo: Waldmüller / IMAGO
The investigation against the discounter Lidl for the sale of hemp-containing foods has been discontinued.
This is reported by the Heilbronn public prosecutor's office.
In the corresponding products, either no THC content was detectable or not determinable or it was below the limit value, it is said.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main intoxicating component of the hemp plant.
In the summer of 2021, Lidl briefly offered a total of 21 different hemp products for sale in several branches.
The discounter then recalled biscuits, tea, a protein bar and oil because it said it had found elevated levels of THC in all foods.
Also as a result of this recall, the public prosecutor's office began investigations into suspected trafficking in narcotics.
According to their own statements, the police seized "a few products" from the hemp range in a discounter branch in Rosenheim, Upper Bavaria, for the investigation.
The samples were examined in the laboratory of the State Criminal Police Office.
The procedure was discontinued in August 2022 because the suspicion was not confirmed, as the authority announced only now.
THC barely detectable
For the property of a narcotic, it is basically not a question of a specific intoxication quality or the ability to consume.
The reports obtained in the course of the investigation revealed that the products examined either contained no THC, could not be determined, or were below the limit of 0.2 percent, according to the public prosecutor.
According to the expert's assessment, abuse for intoxicating purposes by consuming the products is either completely or practically impossible due to the amount required for this.
ptz/dpa