While the German manufacturer HiPP carried out a massive recall of baby food jars in mid-April, some of which were contaminated with rat poison, a 39-year-old man was arrested on Saturday in Austria.

The investigation is progressing. In the case of the baby food jars recalled due to rat poison contamination, a man was arrested Saturday in Austria, police announced, as reported by the Austrian press agency APA.

The individual is being prosecuted for deliberately endangering the community and attempting to cause intentional serious bodily harm.

According to the police in the state of Burgenland, south of Vienna, the suspect is 39 years old. While his identity has not been released, the police have also not disclosed the location of his arrest at this stage of the investigation.

AN ALLEGED ATTEMPT TO BLACKMAIL THE MANUFACTURER

In this case, German authorities are also investigating suspected extortion attempts against the manufacturer HiPP. The arrest of the 39-year-old man could therefore be part of an alleged blackmail attempt.

On April 16, the case began with the appearance of an email from the alleged perpetrators. This prompted an immediate reaction from HiPP. The very next day, the German manufacturer launched a massive recall of certain products, particularly its "carrot-potato" baby puree.

A few days later, five contaminated jars were discovered before consumption in Austria, Czechia and Slovakia, according to Bavarian police, who coordinated the investigations.

Purchased in a Spar supermarket in Eisenstadt, the capital of the Austrian region of Burgenland, one of the jars contained 15 micrograms of rat poison.

A second jar, sold in the same Spar branch in Eisenstadt and also suspected of having been contaminated with rat poison, has not yet been found.