Central European stores pull Hipp baby food after rat poison find

Several Central European countries began pulling baby food made by Hipp Holding from supermarket shelves. The countries named are Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. The removal started after rat poison was detected in some jars. The detection was reported over the weekend before the shelves were cleared.

Baby food is prepared food sold for infants and young children. A recall or a shelf pull takes products out of sale when a contaminant is found. Rat poison is a toxic substance used to kill rodents, and its presence in food is a health emergency. Hipp Holding is the producer named on the jars being removed.

The report says some jars were affected. It does not say how many jars, which flavors, or which batch codes. It does not say whether any child was harmed. The action described is the removal from shops in the three countries, not a published medical toll.

Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic share borders and often stock the same regional brands. A pull in all three means the product was on sale across those markets. Other countries are not listed in the announcement of this step. Supermarkets are the point of sale where the jars were being taken down.

Food-safety agencies test products and, when a poison is found, tell retailers to stop selling the affected goods. The report does not name the laboratory or the amount of poison in a jar. It establishes the substance, the brand, the countries, and the fact that removal had begun.

Hipp baby food was coming off shelves in Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. Rat poison had been found in some jars over the weekend. No injury count was included. The withdrawals were reported on April 20.