Man arrested after rat poison found in baby food across Europe
A European man has been arrested after investigators seized various baby food jars contaminated with rat poison amid a mass recall.
Burgenland Police confirmed that a 39-year-old man was taken into custody in Salzburg, Austria, on Saturday (2 May), just weeks after HiPP products were recalled across SPAR supermarkets in the country, including EUROSPAR, INTERSPAR and Maximarkt stores.
The 190-gram item, made from carrots and potatoes and designed for five-month-old children, was also removed by retailers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia as a precautionary measure.
The recall came after a parent who purchased the item at a supermarket in the city of Eisenstadt on 18 April complained that it appeared to have been tampered with.
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The Federal Criminal Police Office confirmed that the person’s child did not eat the product, which investigators discovered contained a ‘life-threatening’ dose of rat poison.
A total of five tampered jars were seized before they could be consumed, the Austrian Press Agency reports.
Sky News reported that the suspected contaminator is currently being questioned by officials.
The Burgenland public prosecutor's office has since launched an investigation into suspected ‘intentional endangerment of the public’, as per the publication.
A spokesperson for HiPP, established in Germany in 1932, said that the business was ‘greatly relieved’ that the man accused of tampering with its food items had been arrested.
It added that it had been a ‘victim of extortion’ and ‘blackmail’, and that further updates would be published once available.
In an earlier statement, HiPP said that the contaminated items left its factory in ‘perfect condition’ and that the major recall - impacting more than 1,500 Spar Austria stores - was ‘not due to a product or quality defect’.
“The recall is related to a criminal act that is being investigated by the authorities. As part of ongoing criminal investigations, isolated cases of tampered HiPP baby food jars have been seized - as previously reported in Austria, now also in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
“The responsible authorities determined upon examination of these jars that they contained rat poison.”
The Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety said at the time that consumers should check their jars to see if they are damaged, have open lids, are missing safety seals, or smell unusual or spoiled.
A white sticker with a red circle on the bottom of the glass jar may also indicate that it has been tampered with, officials added.
If ingested, rat poison can cause serious symptoms, such as seizures, dehydration, chills, and bleeding from the gums, nose, or skin, as per experts at VeryWell Health.
Possible complications include brain damage, liver failure, and even death.
An expert report on the toxicity of the poison found in the baby jars is pending, according to Sky News.
Ella Scott