Multiple nations throughout Central Europe removed infant formula from store shelves this week following the discovery of rodenticide contamination in HiPP brand baby food containers over the weekend.
Austria’s top health official urged parents and childcare facilities to exercise extreme care when giving children HiPP products. The manufacturer issued a recall for certain infant food containers after laboratory tests in Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic confirmed the presence of rodenticide.
Officials suspect deliberate contamination occurred in 190-gram containers of carrot and potato baby food designed for 5-month-old infants that were distributed through SPAR grocery chains in Austria. Initial testing revealed contamination on Saturday.
Austrian investigators announced Monday they are searching for an additional contaminated container that may have been purchased at a Spar location in Eisenstadt, an eastern Austrian community, according to the APA news service.
“It is deeply disturbing that someone is apparently willing to endanger the health of babies for criminal motives,” Health Minister Korinna Schumann told APA.
Czech authorities discovered two contaminated HiPP containers at a retail location in Brno. State prosecutors in Brno acknowledged the discovery but declined to provide additional information due to an ongoing police investigation.
The German-headquartered HiPP company confirmed that tainted containers were also located in Slovakia beyond those found in the Czech Republic. The manufacturer stated that “retail partners in both countries have already removed all jars of HiPP baby food from sale as a precaution.”
Slovak law enforcement officials said they are examining questionable containers from a store in Dunajska Streda.
Slovenia took preventative action by removing all HiPP products from Spar and other grocery stores, according to its health inspection agency.
Austrian officials also contacted Hungarian authorities, warning that a contaminated container might have been bought by residents living near the border area around Eisenstadt.
Burgenland Police in Austria indicated the suspect products likely display a white label with a red circle on the container bottom. Additional warning indicators include damaged or previously opened lids and unusual or rotten odors. The containers might not produce the typical popping sound when first opened.
The Burgenland prosecutor’s office is treating the case as “intentional endangerment of the public.”
HiPP stated last week that the recall “is not due to any product or quality defect on our part. The jars left our HiPP facility in perfect condition.”
As a safety measure, HiPP announced it was recalling all infant food containers sold at Austria’s SPAR grocery chains — including SPAR, EUROSPAR, INTERSPAR and Maximarkt locations — throughout Austria.
Rodenticide commonly contains bromadiolone, which interferes with blood clotting mechanisms, according to the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety. Consuming rodenticide can cause bleeding gums and nosebleeds along with bruising and bloody stools.
The agency noted that symptoms may emerge two to five days following consumption.
