A wider HiPP baby food recall in Austria followed after police found rat poison in a jar sold at SPAR, prompting public warnings, product recalls, and urgent advice for customers not to consume the contents.
Austrian police said a customer in the Eisenstadt-Umgebung district reported a 190-gram jar of HiPP carrot and potato baby food, and testing confirmed the presence of rat poison. HiPP said it could not rule out deliberate contamination.
Police in Burgenland said the case appears to involve tampering. HiPP described it as external criminal interference affecting the SPAR Austria distribution channel.
The company warned that consuming the contents could be life-threatening. It then recalled the affected products from 1,500 SPAR supermarkets across Austria.
Police said affected jars may show clear warning signs, including a red circle sticker on the bottom, an open lid, a damaged or missing safety seal, or an unusual smell.
Authorities also said early laboratory tests on similar jars seized in the Czech Republic and Slovakia detected a toxic substance, although they did not provide further details.
HiPP later confirmed that the jars did contain rat poison. It also said the investigation does not affect products or distribution channels in Germany or other European countries outside the inquiry.
SPAR Austria said it removed HiPP products from all countries where it operates stores, including Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, and Northern Italy.
The retailer added that SPAR stores in other countries are not part of SPAR Austria. Both SPAR and HiPP advised customers not to consume any affected jars purchased through SPAR Austria and said customers would receive a full refund for returned products.
Police advised anyone who touched a jar to wash their hands thoroughly. Austria’s Agency for Health and Food Safety said parents must seek medical help immediately if a baby consumes the contaminated food.
The case has caused alarm because it involves baby food and an apparent act of tampering in the retail supply chain. Investigators in Austria said related investigations in Germany first alerted them to the risk.
