Blackmail scares baby-food retailers
NZPA-Reuter London
Three British retail chains have withdrawn baby food from store shelves because of a widening blackmail contamination scare.
Five babies have been treated in hospital and 300 cases reported of containers spiked with sharp glass and metal after Heinz received a demand for SNZ2.B million.
In the north England town of Heswall, health officials issued an alert when a family of five were taken to hospital after eating Birds Eye hamburgers containing mercury.
The officials asked Heswall shops to withdraw similar packets and warned consumers not to buy the brand pending an investigation.
The Asda food chain and Boots, which has more than 1000 drugstores nationally, followed Tesco supermarkets in temporarily halting sales of Heinz and Cow and Gate baby food. Boots’ director of corporate affairs, John Eyre, said the decision was taken in spite of plans by both manufacturers to introduce tamper-proof cans and jars. "The fact is that the new packaging will take quite some weeks as far as we can make out before it will be delivered to our stores,” Mr Eyre said.
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Press, 1 May 1989, Page 1
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182Blackmail scares baby-food retailers Press, 1 May 1989, Page 1
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