A major baby food recall has been launched in Austria after manufacturer HiPP warned that its jarred purées sold in Spar supermarkets may have been contaminated with a potentially "life-threatening" substance.
HiPP announced it is pulling all jarred baby food products from more than 1,500 Spar locations across Austria as a precautionary measure. The company specifically identified carrot and potato jars as potentially compromised, stating that "external influence" may have introduced a hazardous substance into the products.
"It cannot be ruled out that a hazardous substance was introduced... due to external influence," HiPP stated in an official announcement.
Police in Austria's Burgenland region have launched an investigation and are seeking information from the public. Authorities indicated that tampered products might be identifiable by a white sticker with a red circle on the jar's base.
Spar supermarkets confirmed the recall across their Eurospar, Interspar, and Maximarkt stores, offering customers full refunds for returned products. HiPP emphasized that only products sold in Spar stores in Austria are affected, with baby food sold through other retailers and in other countries remaining safe.
This incident follows recent contamination scares in the baby food industry. Earlier this year, both Nestle and Danone recalled infant formula across more than 60 countries after babies fell ill from toxin cereulide contamination. The UK Health Security Agency reported at least 36 infants in Britain suffered food poisoning from contaminated formula, though none experienced life-threatening conditions.
HiPP's baby formula products are unaffected by the current recall. The company has urged parents to immediately stop feeding children any jarred baby food purchased from Austrian Spar stores and return the products for a refund.