Latest news Blackmail: rat poison in Hipp baby food in Austria
A jar of Hipp baby food contaminated with rat poison has been found in Austria. A customer discovered it and handed it in, "consumption did not take place", the police in the province of Burgenland announced late on Saturday evening.
18.04.2026, 20:43
18.04.2026, 23:02
SDA
They issued an "urgent warning to the public". Suspicious jars should not be opened and should be handed over to the police. According to the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (Ages), this is an attempt at blackmail against the baby food manufacturer Hipp.
Hipp had already recalled its product range in the economy supermarkets in Austria on Friday evening. A Hipp spokesperson spoke of an "external criminal intervention". "The consumption of such a jar can be life-threatening", warned the family-run company. It has its origins more than 120 years ago in Pfaffenhofen in Bavaria. Today, Hipp Holding AG is based in Sachseln in the Swiss canton of Obwalden.
Tip came from Germany
According to the Austrian police, a tip-off came from Germany. Possibly contaminated glasses were possibly in circulation in Eisenstadt, the capital of the federal state of Burgenland, south-east of Vienna. "The background to this is an ongoing investigation in Germany," said the police. The rat poison was then detected in the afternoon in a 190 gram Hipp jar of "carrots with potatoes". It had turned up in the village of Schützen am Gebirge (district of Eisenstadt-Umgebung).
According to the police, suspicious jars can be recognized by a white sticker with a red circle on the bottom of the jar. It is suspicious if the lid is damaged and has already been opened.
According to Ages, active ingredients in rat poisons can lead to reduced blood clotting. Possible consequences are bleeding gums, nosebleeds, bruises or blood in the stool. If parents notice such symptoms in their children who have eaten Hipp food, they should definitely consult a doctor.
Suspicious products in other countries?
There was confusion as to whether products in other countries were also affected. Ages initially spoke of two affected supermarkets in the Czech Republic, but later removed this information from its website and only mentioned one affected Spar branch in Eisenstadt. However, the Burgenland police subsequently stated that suspicious jars had also been seized in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. "Initial laboratory tests revealed a toxic additive in these products," they announced.
