Baby food brand HiPP has recalled its entire range of jarred purées sold in Spar supermarkets in Austria over fears they may have been contaminated.

The company’s carrot and potato jars may have been tampered with, it said in a statement, making consuming them potentially “life-threatening”.

“It cannot be ruled out that a hazardous substance was introduced… due to external influence,” it said.

Even though only one flavour was thought to be interfered with, its entire range was being pulled from the more than 1,500 Spar shops across Austria as a precautionary measure.

HiPP stressed its products sold in other countries were not affected by the issue.

Police in Austria’s eastern Burgenland region are seeking information from the public about the issue, HiPP said.

It cited the force as saying that products that may have been tampered with could be identified by a white sticker with a red circle on their base.

Supermarket chain Spar separately confirmed the recall, saying customers would be able to return affected products in exchange for a full refund.

Jars sold in Eurospar, Interspar and Maximarkt shops also fall under the recall.

HiPP urged parents not to feed their children with any baby food jars that had been purchased in Spar stores.

It stressed baby food sold in other shops remained unaffected by the recall.

The incident comes just a few months after two other baby brands had to issue widescale recalls of infant formula over contamination fears.

In January and February, Nestle and Danone issued recalls of their baby formula brands in more than 60 countries, including in the UK, after babies fell ill.

Specific batches were understood to have been contaminated with toxin cereulide, which can trigger nausea and vomiting when consumed. The toxin is not destroyed by cooking or when making baby milk.

The UK’s Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) said in February that at least 36 infants in Britain had suffered food poisoning due to contaminated baby formula. None of the infants’ conditions were life-threatening, the UKHSA said.

HiPP’s baby formula was unaffected.