Lidl recalls PAW Patrol-themed snacks after its website starts serving adult content

Lidl, a budget supermarket chain, has been busy recalling four types of PAW Patrol-themed snacks across the United Kingdom and elsewhere. The website listed on the package directs to porn.

The recall has nothing to do with the quality of the snacks. It’s just that any consumer who had bought the package and decided to check out the website listed on the packaging would have entered a Chinese adult site.

"Four types of Paw Patrol snacks are being recalled by Lidl after a website URL listed on the back of the packaging was compromised with explicit content unsuitable for children. Customers should return the products to their nearest Lidl store for a full refund," said Which?, a consumer rights awareness service operating in the UK.

Not really suitable content for minors, is it? The popular snacks feature animated characters from a popular children’s TV series and are marketed towards minors specifically.

Lidl says that the URL printed on the packaging was compromised, and all stock sent to stores across the UK – four different types of PAW Patrol-themed biscuits and bake bars – was affected.

“We recommend that customers refrain from viewing the URL and return this product to the

nearest store where a full refund will be given,” the chain said in its product recall notice.

Cybernews checked the domain in question, named after Appy Kids Co, the company that produces retail products tailored for minors, on Monday morning. The domain was still serving Chinese adult content on mobile devices.

However, if one tries to access the website from a computer, it shows a “temporarily unavailable” notice citing violations of the “relevant regulations” of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Although Lidl says the URL was compromised, public records show that the domain is currently registered to a person in Lianyungang, a city in China. Previously, it belonged to the manufacturer of the Paw Patrol products, a sub-brand of Appy Food & Drinks named Appy Kids Co.

However, listings on the Companies House website show that Appy Food and Drinks was dissolved in June 2022. This suggests that the web domain on the packaging has lapsed, and the web host has been displaying ads of explicit content as an additional source of revenue.