A man has been taken into custody following the discovery of rat poison in widely consumed baby food, resulting in a significant product recall.
The authorities in the eastern region of Austria have reported the arrest of a 39-year-old individual in connection with the tainted HiPP baby food containers found on store shelves across central Europe.
HiPP, which withdrew certain batches of its baby food products in response to the incident that surfaced last month, expressed relief at the apprehension and pledged to provide updates as more information is confirmed.
The Burgenland State Criminal Police Office, in collaboration with prosecutors, initiated an investigation after poison was detected in a baby food container bought at a supermarket in Eisenstadt on April 18.
The suspect is currently under interrogation, with no immediate additional details disclosed. The public prosecutor’s office in Burgenland has launched a probe into the suspected “intentional endangerment of the public.”
According to the Austrian Press Agency, an expert report assessing the toxicity of the poison is pending. Five tampered baby food containers were confiscated before consumption, as reported by APA.
Authorities suspect that the tampering occurred in 190-gram jars of baby food containing carrots and potatoes for infants aged five months, sold at SPAR supermarkets in Austria.
In response, HiPP issued a recall for all its baby food containers sold at SPAR outlets, including SPAR, EUROSPAR, INTERSPAR, and Maximarkt stores in Austria, as a precautionary measure. Vendors in Slovakia and the Czech Republic also removed the brand’s baby food containers from their shelves.
The company clarified that the recall was not due to any fault in its products or quality but as a preventive action, stating that the containers left its facility in pristine condition.
Upon the discovery, a customer reported suspicions of tampering with a jar, although no one had consumed the baby food at that point, as per the police.
