Auckland City Mission, a New Zealand-based food bank, has been unknowingly giving out candy laced with methamphetamine to members of the public, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

The charity, which focuses on helping the homeless, contacted up to 400 people and traced them after three were hospitalised after consuming drug-laced sweets, the media reported. ReportedNew Zealand authorities said the hospitalized victims had been treated and released. (RELATED: Authorities seize drugs hidden in frozen meals at southern border)

New Zealand food banks hand out lethal methamphetamine candy https://t.co/hd3FGPx02M

— Associated Press (@AP) August 14, 2024

According to the Associated Press, the New Zealand Drug Foundation said the 16 Linda candies seized by police contained potentially lethal levels of methamphetamine. Foundation spokesman Ben Birks Ang told the outlet that lacing harmless products with drugs is a common smuggling tactic. Ang estimated the street value of the tainted candies at $608 each.

Ang also said that the unidentified donors who provided the treats to the charity likely didn't know they contained drugs. A customer reported the issue to Oakland City Mission on Tuesday, saying the treats “tasted funny.” Charity staff then tasted the treats themselves, according to the Associated Press.

A staff member was among the victims taken to hospital, and Detective Glenn Baldwin told The Associated Press that two other people hospitalized due to the tainted products were a child and “young adult.”

Helen Robinson, a missionary for the city, told the outlet she did not know how much sweets the group had distributed or how much of them were tainted with methamphetamine.

“We want to make it clear that at Linda Food Industries we do not use or condone any illegal drugs in our products,” general manager Steven Teh told The Associated Press.