Rat poison found in jars of baby food in Austria, police say | World News

A baby food brand is recalling its products sold in Austrian SPAR markets after some tested positive for rat poison.

HiPP said that the recall is “not due to any product or quality defect on our part” and said the products “left our HiPP facility in perfect condition”.

“The recall is related to a criminal act currently under investigation by the authorities”, it added.

Burgenland Police in Austria believe the tampering occurred in 190-gram jars of baby food made with carrots and potatoes for five-month-olds that were sold from SPAR supermarkets in the country.

The first sample tested positive on Saturday. A customer also reported that a jar appeared to have been tampered with, police said, though no one had consumed the baby food.

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The force added that the suspicious products likely have a white sticker with a red circle on the bottom of the jar, and added other warning signs include a damaged or open lid, an unusual or spoiled smell, and no popping noise when the jar is first opened.

As a result, HiPP said it is recalling all of its baby food jars sold at SPAR supermarkets in Austria, including SPAR, EUROSPAR, INTERSPAR and Maximarkt stores, as a precaution.

Customers can get full refunds without a receipt. Vendors in Slovakia and the Czech Republic have removed all of the brand’s baby jars from sale.

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According to the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, rat poison typically contains bromadiolone, an anticoagulant that prevents the blood from clotting.

Ingesting rat poison could lead to bleeding gums and nosebleeds, as well as bruising and blood in the stool.

Symptoms could appear two to five days after ingestion, the agency said.