BERLIN, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- German Police launched an international manhunt on Friday for an individual suspected of poising baby food in grocery stores in the Southern German city of Friedrichshafen.
Five bottles of baby food were found in supermarkets which were contaminated with ethylene glycol, an official of the state consumer protection ministry confirmed. The substance is traditionally used in anti-freeze agents and brake fluids and is potentially lethal in high doses. All bottles of the affected products were temporarily removed from shelves as a precaution.
The perpetrator has written a letter to the police and several large grocery chains threatening to poison 20 further food products in stores if his demand for a payment of millions of euros is not met.
Police urged the public to remain calm and urged anyone with knowledge of the identity and whereabouts of the "very unscrupulous" individual to come forward. A surveillance image of the suspect, a roughly 50-year-old Caucasian man wearing a white hat and glasses, was released.
More than 650 people called in to a specially-created police hotline by Friday morning.
Although poisoned substances were only found in Friedrichshafen so far, a team of around 220 investigators will carry out a cross-border manhunt around the area of Lake Constance, as well as nearby Switzerland and Austria.
Consumers were told to remain vigilant when shopping and check products for signs of tampering.
The police are concerned that the suspect could place more poisoned items in supermarkets over the weekend and had hence decided to make the case public, spokesperson Jens Purath said during an appearance on the public broadcaster "ZDF" on Friday.
Purath sought to reassure consumers by emphasizing that an investigation was underway at "full speed" and expressing his confidence that all previously contaminated products had already been removed from stores.
