SUPERMARKETS and baby food manufacturers stood firm yesterday in the face of parents’ growing concern that products packed in air-tight jars could pose a cancer risk.

Leading stores said that they would not be removing jars of baby food from their shelves after a potentially cancercausing toxin was discovered in the plastic seals.

The food industry said it would set up a task force to eliminate the toxin SEM — semicarbazide — from the packaging process.

Many mothers have expressed grave doubts about buying baby food in jars after the European Food Safety Authority revealed that it had discovered the toxin, which can damage DNA, in a range of products, including baby foods.

While the experts said that it posed only a “very small” risk to adults and children, it advised those parents wishing to play it safe to consider making their own baby food. Many parents said they were opting for dried, canned or frozen foods instead of puréeing vegetables, meat and fish at home. The agency immediately urged manufacturers to eradicate the threat by changing packaging methods “as swiftly as technological progress allows”.

The European agency and the UK Foods Standards Agency did not advise consumers to stop using products with airtight lids, or that such items should be removed from shop shelves.

With an expected drop in the sale of such jars, Asda said that it planned to stock three new lines of organic produce stored in plastic containers.

“We anticipate that some customers will want to buy baby foods in alternative packaging,” a spokeswoman said.

Tesco has issued its staff with guidelines on how to advise worried customers about food stored in jars.

Heinz, a leading baby food manufacturer, said that it was following the FSA’s advice and would not be withdrawing lines because the risk had been classed as “low”.

Monique Warnock, who specialises in food affairs for the Consumers’ Association, said that urgent work needed to be done to find alternative packaging and restore public confidence.

She said: “The food industry identified this potential health risk. It now needs to show its commitment to consumer safety by taking immediate action to find alternative sources of packaging.”

Martin Paterson, director-general of the Food and Drink Federation, representing manufacturers, said that a special taskforce had been set up.

In Central London yesterday, many parents had either ruled out buying baby food in jars or were trying to find alternative products. Rebecca Greene, 27, from Camden, now refuses to buy such jars for her nine-month-old son, Dillon.

She said: “I don’t trust them and now make the food myself. It is worrying and I’ve warned my brother, who has a newborn baby, not to touch it. You should always make your own food because at least you know where it comes from.”

Cagla Simseck, 33, who has a daughter, Aliura, aged two, said: “This is dreadful news for modern mums, because jars are so easy to use.”

Elicia Blanche, 23, from West London, feeds her daughter Mya, aged one, a mixture of organic baby food and her own cooking. She said: “This has set off alarm bells and it makes you very hesitant. Your child is your pride and joy and you don’t want to expose them to unnecessary risks.” She believed that jars were convenient but now she would “definitely reconsider using them”.

However, Katie Wilson, 34, said that this was another in the long line of scare stories. She added that it would not change the way she fed her four-month-old son, Ben.

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