The HiPP brand has recalled jars of baby food sold in SPAR supermarkets in Austria after laboratory analysis confirmed the presence of rat poison in a carrot and potato product. Police are investigating possible external sabotage and authorities warn that consumption could be fatal
The alert started with a 190-gram jar of carrot and potato puree, the kind you buy for babies from the first months of life. A customer from the Eisenstadt-Umgebung district in the Austrian state of Burgenland handed the product over to authorities and laboratory analyzes confirmed the presence of rat poison, Austrian police announced.
The HiPP brand had already admitted on Saturday that it could not rule out the hypothesis that a dangerous substance had been introduced into the product and that some bottles could have been manipulated. The company warned that consumption of the content could be fatal.
According to police, the suspected bottles had a sticker with a red circle on the bottom and could show signs of opening or damage to the lid, the absence of a safety seal or an abnormal smell. Authorities advised anyone who has touched a suspicious product to wash their hands thoroughly.
The investigation has since expanded to other countries. Initial analysis of vials seized by police in Czechia and Slovakia also revealed the presence of a toxic substance, although authorities did not provide further details. HiPP confirmed that trading partners in those countries immediately removed the brand’s baby food jars from shelves as a precaution.
In Austria, the recall covered around 1,500 SPAR supermarkets. SPAR Austria later announced that it has also withdrawn HiPP products in the countries where it operates, including Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia and northern Italy. SPAR stores in other countries do not belong to the same Austrian structure, the company clarified.
HiPP rules out, for now, a production failure and points to “external criminal interference” in the SPAR Austria distribution channel. The company guarantees that products and distribution channels in Germany and other European countries that are not part of the investigation are not affected.
SPAR and HiPP have asked customers not to consume the contents of bottles purchased from SPAR Austria and have guaranteed full refunds for returned products. The Austrian Health and Food Safety Agency has warned that immediate medical help should be sought if any baby has eaten the contaminated food.
