Vietnam orders recall of HiPP baby food over suspected rat poison contamination

The department issued the directive on Sunday to provincial and municipal departments of health, the Ho Chi Minh City Food Safety Department, and other local food safety agencies.

The move came after the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety on the same day announced that HiPP, a German-Swiss maker of baby food, together with the Austria’s SPAR supermarket chain, had recalled all 190-gram jars of ‘HiPP Vegetable Carrot with Potato’ from about 1,500 stores nationwide over suspected rat poison contamination.

To safeguard consumer health, the department requested relevant agencies to urgently review product registration dossiers and self-declaration documents for HiPP baby food products in Vietnam.

Authorities were also instructed to work with relevant companies to ensure that distributors and consumers are informed to stop using the affected products, and to carry out recalls in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

The department further requested reports on import volumes, products already sold, and remaining stock, as well as proposed measures for handling affected batches in line with the recall instructions.

It also called for strengthened public communication to ensure consumers do not use the affected batches.

All agencies are required to submit their reports to the department before April 27, 2026.

In a separate notice, the department requested the Department of E-Commerce and Digital Economy under the Ministry of Industry and Trade to notify e-commerce platforms, online retail websites, and shop accounts about the recall, and to coordinate with traders to suspend sales of the affected products, remove relevant product listings, and carry out other required procedures.

Earlier, a test sample from a 190-gram jar of ‘HiPP Vegetable Carrot with Potato,’ reported by a customer in the Eisenstadt-Umgebung area of Austria, was found to be positive for rat poison.

In a recall announcement issued on Saturday, HiPP urged customers not to consume any potentially affected products, warning that doing so could pose a risk of death, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

The jars subject to recall can be identified by a white label with a red circle on the bottom of the container, lids that have been opened or damaged, missing safety seals, or an unusual odor.

Consumers are advised to return such jars to the point of purchase.