Rat poison found in HiPP baby food jar in Austria, police say

Police in Austria said late on Saturday that rat poison was found inside a jar of HiPP baby food, following a recall of the product from more than 1,000 SPAR supermarkets in the country over safety fears.



Police in Burgenland, Austria, said in a statement a sample from one of the 190-gram jars of "Carrots and Potatoes" baby food reported by a customer had tested positive for rat poison.



HIPP had said on Saturday it could not be ruled out that a dangerous substance was introduced into the product and that its HiPP Vegetable Carrot with Potato jars may have been tampered with.



Consuming the contents of jars could be life-threatening, HiPP said.



The police statement said the affected jars had a sticker with a red circle on the bottom of the jar and a lid that had already been opened or damaged or missing a safety seal, or had an unusual smell.



They said initial lab tests on similar jars seized by police in the Czech Republic and Slovakia showed the presence of a toxic substance. The statement gave no further details.



The police also said authorities in Austria were warned about the risk following investigations in Germany. They provided no further details.