Heinz has been forced to recall thousands of its pots of baby food amid fears they could cause a choking hazard to infants.

The company has received a number of reports from parents that pots of its Fruity Custard Fruit Medley contained small pieces of plastic.

“Heinz is taking the precautionary measure of recalling part of an isolated batch of Heinz Fruity Custard, Fruit Medley baby food in 4 x 100g pots because of the potential presence of small pieces of plastic from the inside of the pot, which could present a choking risk,” the company said in a statement.

“This product must not be consumed.”