Ready Brek acts to clear death salt charges

Weetabix is seeking legal advice following an inquest into the death of a baby from salt poisoning who was fed a diet of “adult food” including mashed-up Ready Brek instant porridge with baby milk.

The inquest held in Doncaster on Monday heard that the three-month-old boy suffered a fit and lapsed into coma. He died five days later and was found to have high levels of salt in his blood and urine.

A spokeswoman for Weetabix says: “If the reports in the daily newspapers are accurate it would seem that the coroner made some misleading comments implying that the salt content of Ready Brek was high. Ready Brek does not contain salt, nor do we add any. We are seeking legal advice.”

At the inquest the Doncaster coroner, Stanley Hooper, was reported to have said: “The baby was fed with adult food, in particular Ready Brek. The adult food contains salt. I conclude ingestion of salt caused premature death of this baby.”