Austria arrests suspect in baby food rat poison case

Vienna: Austrian police have arrested a 39-year-old man suspected of contaminating jars of baby food with rat poison in what authorities believe was an extortion attempt targeting the manufacturer.

According to police statements carried by the APA news agency, the suspect was taken into custody in Burgenland, a state south of Vienna. Authorities did not disclose his identity or specify the exact location of the arrest.

The man has been charged with deliberately causing a public danger and attempted grievous bodily harm, police said.

The arrest came about two weeks after Austrian authorities found rat poison in jars of baby food sold in some supermarkets. The affected products were made by German-based company HiPP, prompting German police to join the investigation.

Police said five tampered jars were recovered before they could be consumed. The jars were found over the following days in Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Investigators believe the contamination was carried out as part of an effort to extort the company. In response to the case, HiPP issued a product recall in Austria.

Products found in multiple countries

Authorities said one of the adulterated jars had been purchased at a Spar supermarket in Eisenstadt, in Burgenland state. Tests showed that it contained 15 microgrammes of rat poison.

Police also said another jar sold at the same supermarket was suspected of having been laced with poison, but it had not yet been recovered.

The case drew the involvement of law enforcement beyond Austria after the affected jars were traced across three countries. Austrian authorities said the recovered products were secured before they were eaten.

No further details about the suspect or the alleged extortion scheme were released in the police account cited by APA.

Police said they believed the crime was carried out to extort the company.

The investigation focused on baby food jars sold through supermarket outlets, with authorities moving to trace potentially affected products after the contamination was detected. The recall in Austria was issued after the discovery of rat poison in the jars.

The suspect remains under investigation in connection with the case, which authorities have linked to the tampering of HiPP baby food products sold in retail stores.