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Austria Arrests 39-Year-Old in HiPP Baby Food Rat-Poison Case

The arrest advances a suspected extortion case with key evidence still outstanding.

This photograph shows the logo on a baby food jar of German baby food manufacturer HiPP in Paris on April 21, 2026. Authorities in Austria are hunting a last remaining jar of baby food possibly mixed with rat poison in a suspected extortion scheme, police said on April 20, 2026. The HiPP company announced the recall at certain supermarkets late on April 17 over the possibility that "a hazardous substance" was introduced into its "carrot with potato" puree through tampering. (Photo by Charlotte SIEMON / AFP via Getty Images)
A view of HiPP baby food on a shelf, in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, Sunday, April 19, 2026.
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Overview

  • Austrian police arrested a 39-year-old Saturday in the probe into baby-food jars allegedly laced with rat poison.
  • The Eisenstadt prosecutor sought pretrial detention on counts of deliberately causing a public danger and attempted grievous bodily harm.
  • Investigators have recovered five tampered jars in Austria, Czechia, and Slovakia, and they are still searching for a sixth.
  • The inquiry began after April 18 testing of a 190-gram carrots-and-potatoes jar bought in Eisenstadt found 15 micrograms of rat poison.
  • Authorities are treating the case as an extortion attempt against HiPP, which recalled jars from SPAR outlets as a precaution and says contamination happened after distribution.