Police in Austria have urged people to remain vigilant after rat poison was found in a sample of HiPP baby food. Authorities in the eastern region of Burgenland said the poisoned jars of carrot and potato puree were reported by a customer, and fortunately their child had not eaten the food.
According to officials, the jar had apparently been tampered with, and officials believe at least one more poisoned jar is in circulation. They have also issued guidance on how to identify tampered jars. He has not confirmed whether the cases involve alleged extortion attempts. However, the police statement said the warning came from German investigators, and that tampered jars had also been seized in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
On Saturday, HiPP recalled its entire range of jarred purees sold in SPAR supermarkets in Austria, saying that consuming them could potentially be “life-threatening”.
The German-based company said the recall of the baby food jars was “not due to any product or quality defect on our part” and that the jars had left its factory in “perfect condition.”
“The withdrawal is related to a criminal act that is being investigated by the authorities,” it said on its website. “As part of the ongoing criminal investigation, individual cases of tampered HyPP baby food jars have been seized – as first reported in Austria, now also in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
“After examining these jars, the responsible authorities found that they contained rat poison.”
SPAR has also removed the brand’s baby food from its stores in other countries as a precaution.
Austrian authorities have told consumers to look out for damaged or open lids, missing safety seals, unusual or bad odors, or white stickers with a red circle on the bottom of glass jars.
The Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety warns parents whose children have eaten this brand of food to consult a doctor if their children show signs of bleeding, extreme weakness or paleness. Customers are also asked not to consume HyPP jars purchased from Eurospar, Interspar and Maximarkt and to return them for a refund. There are more than 1,500 SPAR shops throughout Austria.
Police had previously stressed that baby food sold in other stores would be unaffected by the recall. HiPP’s infant formula was also unaffected.
Retailers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia have also removed all HiPP baby food jars from sale.
