Rat poison in baby food: What parents in Czechia need to know

Czech and Slovak authorities have pulled all HiPP baby food jars from store shelves following a criminal tampering investigation that began in Austria.

Czech authorities confirmed this weekend that two jars of HiPP baby food found in a Brno store had been laced with rat poison, part of what investigators say is an extortion attempt targeting the German-Swiss baby food brand across three countries.

Officials believe the tampering occurred in 190-gram (6.7-ounce) jars of baby food made with carrots and potatoes for 5-month-olds. Here's what you need to know.

Austrian authorities issued a warning on Saturday, when a customer reported a jar that appeared to have been tampered with.

Lab analysis confirmed the presence of rat poison that same afternoon. Austrian police issued a warning that similar jars might have made their way to Czechia and Slovakia.

The South Moravia regional prosecutor's office confirmed on Sunday that Brno police found two contaminated jars at a specific store, in exactly the location an email from the suspected perpetrator had described.

The jars were identified by a white sticker with a red circle on the bottom.

HiPP issued a statement on Sunday saying that the poisoning was a criminal act not a production failure, stating that its manufacturing, quality controls, and safety processes are intact.

The jar tampering is currently the subject of an active criminal investigation involving police in Austria, Czechia, and Slovakia, as well as Czech public health authorities and the State Agricultural and Food Inspection Authority (SZPI).

The substance involved is bromadiolone, an anticoagulant commonly used in rodenticides. It works by blocking vitamin K, which the body uses to clot blood.

If ingested, symptoms which can include unusual bruising, bleeding gums, nosebleeds, or blood in the stool may take two to five days to appear. The poisoning is treatable and so far no cases of consumption have been reported.

Authorities say the tampering appears to have been deliberate and targeted, the perpetrator communicated the specific stores where jars had been placed, and police found them in exactly those locations.

Austrian police said on Sunday they believed at least one more jar may still be unaccounted for in Austria.

In Czechia, the two jars confirmed in Brno have been secured. The precautionary removal of all HiPP baby food jars from Czech and Slovak shelves means the risk of encountering a tampered jar is now extremely low.

Czech retailers have already cleared HiPP baby food jars from their shelves, so there is nothing to return or avoid at the shops. If you have jars of HiPP (or any other baby food at home) it's worth doing a quick check before use:

The HiPP case comes after months of unrelated baby food safety alerts in Czechia, linked to a Europe-wide cereulide contamination traced to formula manufacturers including Nestlé and Danone. Unlike those production failures, this week's incident is being treated as a criminal act.