Austria police investigate possible tampering of HiPP baby food jars in Spar stores

A suspected criminal interference with HiPP baby food jars sold through SPAR Austria has triggered a recall that now reaches about 1,500 stores and put Burgenland police on the case, a rare escalation for an infant food product built on consumer trust.

AGES identified the recalled item as HiPP Gemüsegläschen Karotte mit Kartoffel, 190 grams, and listed the reason as Manipulation des Artikels. The agency said a dangerous substance could not be ruled out and warned that eating one of the jars could be life-threatening. Potentially affected jars are marked by a white sticker with a red circle on the bottom, and parents are being told not to consume any HiPP baby food jars bought at SPAR Austria. Customers can return the products to SPAR, EUROSPAR, INTERSPAR or Maximarkt and receive a refund without a receipt.

HiPP said the case involved external criminal interference affecting the SPAR Austria distribution channel, while stressing that production and quality assurance remained unchanged. Reuters reported the recall covered more than 1,000 SPAR supermarkets in Austria, while SPAR said the precautionary measure affected about 1,500 of its Austrian stores and did not extend to outlets outside Austria.

Burgenland’s state police are leading the investigation and have asked the public for information. Police spokesman Helmut Marban said investigators had received a tip that the jars may have appeared in the Burgenland region, but nothing had been found so far, and officials were withholding further details for tactical reasons. The police contact number listed for tips is +43 5913310 3333.

The recall underscored how quickly one suspected act of tampering can spread from a retail shelf to the center of a national food-safety and child-protection response, especially when the product is meant for infants.