Suspect in Hipp baby-food rat-poison case kept in pre-trial detention

Authorities have extended the pre-trial detention of a 39-year-old former Hipp employee, who was taken into custody in May in Salzburg. He is accused of attempting extortion, causing serious bodily injury and forging documents to obtain a loan. Prosecutors allege he tampered with two infant-food jars across Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, adding rat poison, while a third jar sold in an Eisenstadt Spar store has not been located.

Laboratory analysis of a confiscated jar revealed 15 micrograms of poison, a dose unlikely to be fatal but capable of causing health effects. Additional poison was seized at the suspect’s home, matching the concentration of the sample, though officials cannot verify it is the identical substance. The suspect denies involvement in the poisoning but admits to forging salary slips.