Police in Austria have urged people to be vigilant after a sample of HiPP baby food was found to contain rat poison.
Police in the eastern region of Burgenland said the poisoned jar of carrot and potato puree was reported by a customer and that their baby fortunately did not consume the food.
Apparently, the jar was "tampered," police said, writing foreign media, the Telegraph reports.
Authorities believe at least one other poisoned jar is in circulation and have issued guidelines on how to spot "tampered jars."
They have not confirmed that the cases involve a suspected extortion attempt.
But the police statement stressed that the warning had come from German investigators and tampered jars had also been seized in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
On Saturday, HiPP recalled its entire range of jarred purees sold in Spar supermarkets in Austria, saying their consumption could be potentially "life-threatening".
The Germany-based company said the recall of baby food jars at Spar Austria “was not due to a product or quality defect on our part” – and that the jars had left its factory in “perfect condition”.
"The withdrawal is related to a criminal act that is being investigated by authorities," it said on its website.
"As part of ongoing criminal investigations, isolated cases of tampered HiPP baby food jars have been seized - as previously reported in Austria, now also in the Czech Republic and Slovakia."
"The responsible authorities determined after examining these jars that they contained rat poison."
Spar has also removed the brand's baby food from its stores in other countries as a precaution.
The Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety warned parents whose babies had consumed the brand's food to consult a doctor if their children showed signs of bleeding, extreme weakness or paleness.
Customers have also been asked not to consume HiPP jars purchased at Eurospar, Interspar and Maximarkt, and to return them for a refund.
Police previously stressed that baby food sold in other stores remained unaffected by the recall.
Retailers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia have also previously removed all HiPP baby food jars from sale.
The incident comes just months after two other baby brands were forced to issue large-scale recalls of infant formula over fears of contamination.
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