Food saboteur feared

Press, 27 April 1989, Page 8

Food saboteur feared

NZPA-PA London Two new cases of glass in baby food yesterday fuelled fears that a saboteur is spiking the containers. In the first incident, glass was found in a Cow and Gate pineapple dessert bought at a chemist’s shop in Fratton, Portsmouth. Later, Hampshire police confirmed they were investigating a second alert after the parents of a young child found fragments in a Heinz chocolate pudding, bought several days ago at a Gateway supermarket in Newport, Isle of Wight. The finds follow a suspected

attack in Shoreham, West Sussex on Tuesday, in which glass was found in a tin of Heinz lamb baby dinner. Glass slivers were recently found in Heinz pear yoghurt baby food in Southampton and Worthing, West Sussex, and a broken razor blade was found in baby food bought near Oxford. Teresa Murphy, of Fratton, found glass in a jar of pineapple dessert she was about to feed her daughter, Judy, aged 21 months. Mrs Murphy, aged 27, who said she was “still shaking” over the incident, added: “I only found the glass because I heard it chink

when I was stirring the baby food in the bowl. I bought the jar because Judy had been off her food and I thought it would be easier for her to eat.” Forensic experts are now examining the bottles. The police warned they could not rule out the possibility of a saboteur widening attacks. Cow and Gate said all the company’s baby meals were packed in glass jar containers. “We have not received any sort of threats and have no reason to believe that anyone should wish to attack our products,” a company spokeswoman said.