HiPP Baby Food Recalled in Central Europe After Rat Poison Extortion Attempt

German baby food manufacturer HiPP confirmed Monday that five jars of its carrot and potato puree for infants had been deliberately contaminated with rat poison and recovered across Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, as police in Germany investigate an extortion attempt against the company. The Ingolstadt Criminal Police confirmed it is conducting the investigation under the supervision of the Ingolstadt prosecutors' office, on suspicion of attempted extortion against an unknown perpetrator. All five recovered jars were seized before being consumed, police said, but a sixth contaminated jar is believed to still be in circulation in Austria. Austrian supermarket chain Spar, which operates Eurospar, Interspar, and Maximarkt stores, launched an urgent product recall over the weekend, pulling the affected products from more than 1,000 locations.

Extortion email went unread for weeks before discovery Austrian newspaper Die Presse reported that an email sent to HiPP on March 27 demanded 2 (million euros) — ransom demanded from HiPP by alleged perpetrator and gave the company until April 2 to pay, threatening that two jars of baby food would be poisoned in each of three specific supermarkets in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria if the deadline was not met. HiPP acknowledged receiving the message but said it had been sent to an unpersonalized collective email address that, as part of standard processes, is reviewed only occasionally. The company said it informed authorities and formed an internal crisis team as soon as it became aware of the communication. The Ingolstadt police stated that all necessary measures were taken once the email came to light on April 16, according to the Irish Independent. Austrian media reported that HiPP employees apparently noticed the email only two weeks after the ultimatum had already expired. The Ingolstadt police declined to provide further specifics on the extortion attempt but confirmed the investigation is ongoing against persons unknown. „The author sent us a message to an unpersonalised collective address that, as part of our standard processes, is viewed on occasions that are quite far apart” — HiPP via Irish Independent

Tampered jars traced to Burgenland, Brno, and Dunajská Streda The first contaminated jar was discovered near Eisenstadt in Burgenland, Austria's easternmost federal state, where initial laboratory tests confirmed the presence of rat poison in a 190-gram jar of carrot and potato puree intended for infants aged five months. Two more contaminated jars were found in a supermarket in the Czech city of Brno, where local media reported the public prosecutor's office confirmed both jars bore a white sticker with a red circle on the bottom, matching the description provided by the alleged perpetrator in the extortion email. A further two jars were recovered in the Slovak town of Dunajská Streda in southern Slovakia. Laboratory analyses carried out on all five seized jars confirmed the presence of rat poison, according to police. All five jars shared common signs of tampering: damaged lids that no longer produced the characteristic vacuum-seal pop sound when opened. HiPP stated that the tampering constituted criminal external manipulation that must have taken place outside its factory premises, and that its production, quality, and control processes remained fully intact.

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Consumers warned to check for stickers, smell, and missing pop Authorities across the three affected countries urged consumers to examine any HiPP carrot and potato puree jars carefully before use, citing three specific warning signs identified by police. The suspected perpetrator reportedly marked tampered jars with a white sticker featuring a red circle on the bottom of the glass jar. Additional indicators include a lid that is already open or damaged, the absence of the characteristic pop sound when the jar is first opened, and an unusual or altered smell. HiPP and the Ingolstadt police both advised consumers that under no circumstances should they feed the contents to infants if any of these signs are present, and that they should contact local police immediately. A HiPP spokesperson told AFP that products and distribution channels in Germany and other European countries not subject to the investigation were not affected. Romanian authorities, including the Sanitary Veterinary Authority and the National Institute for Public Health, said there were no grounds for concern in Romania and that they were monitoring the situation. „This recall is not due to any product or quality defect on our part. The jars left our HiPP facility in perfect condition” — HiPP via ANSA

Food tampering for extortion purposes has precedent in Europe. In one of the most widely cited cases, a British police officer named Rodney Whitchelo purchased baby food jars in 1988 and 1989, laced them with chemicals or razor blades, and returned them to store shelves, demanding four million pounds from manufacturers before being sentenced to 17 years in prison in 1990, according to Deutsche Welle. That case and similar incidents from the 1980s contributed directly to manufacturers introducing tamper-evident vacuum-seal pop closures on baby food jars. In 2017, Deutsche Welle reported, several jars of baby food appeared in Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance in southwestern Germany contaminated with antifreeze agent in potentially fatal doses.