Urgent product recall issued after rat poison found in baby food | World | News
Police in Austria urged people to be careful after rat poison was found in a sample of HiPP baby food. Authorities in the eastern region of Burgenland said a jar of poisonous carrots and mashed potatoes was reported by a customer and their baby luckily did not consume the food.
The jar appears to have been tampered with, and authorities believe at least one other poisoned jar is in circulation, according to authorities. They have also published guidance on how to recognize tampered jars. They did not confirm whether the lawsuits included allegations of attempted extortion. However, the police statement stated that the warning came from German inspectors and tampered jars were also seized in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
On Saturday, HiPP recalled its entire range of jarred purees sold in SPAR supermarkets in Austria, saying consuming them could be potentially “life-threatening”.
The German-based company said the recall of the baby food jars was “not due to a product or quality defect on our part” and that the jars left the factory in “perfect condition”.
“The recall relates to criminal activity being investigated by authorities,” the website said. “As part of ongoing criminal investigations, isolated cases of falsified HiPP baby food jars have been seized, as previously reported in Austria and now also reported in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
“After examining these jars, the responsible authorities determined 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 told consumers to look out for damaged or open lids, a missing safety seal, an unusual or spoiled odor or a white label with a red circle at the bottom of the glass jar.
The Austrian Health and Food Safety Agency warned parents whose babies consume the brand’s formula to consult a doctor if their children show signs of bleeding, extreme weakness or paleness. Customers were also asked not to consume HiPP jars purchased from Eurospar, Interspar and Maximarkt and to return them for a refund. There are more than 1,500 SPAR stores throughout Austria.
Police had previously emphasized that baby food sold in other stores was not affected 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 as a preventive measure.
