An urgent safety alert has warned parents to throw away a baby product that presents a risk of serious harm or death.

The Baby self-feeding pillows are designed to enable babies to bottle feed without the assistance of supervision of a caregiver, creating a risk of serious harm or death from choking on the feed or aspiration pneumonia.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is calling on consumers, local authority trading standards and businesses to take action and remove the product from the market due to the risks.

A spokesman said: “A baby, which is the intended user of the product, does not have the dexterity or cognitive ability to control the flow of bottle feed, or to know when to stop feeding, or to take action if it gags or chokes or to otherwise signal or raise alarm if something is going wrong.

“Crucial to this, gagging is characterised by noise and coughing, whereas choking is characterised by silence because of the blockage to the airway.

“The most common reason for babies to choke on feed is because the liquid is being dispensed faster than it can swallow.

“The harm in relation to aspiration pneumonia follows a similar sequence of events, but a choking event does not occur. However, the baby does breathe in liquid which goes on to cause an infection resulting in pneumonia.

“The risks from choking and aspiration pneumonia are entirely related to the design and intended use of the product – these risks cannot be mitigated by instructions.”

The OPSS say consumers should immediately stop using the product and dispose of them safely.

Businesses must immediately remove the products from the market and comply with their obligations under product safety law.

While Local Authority Trading Standards are being told to take appropriate actions against any businesses found to be selling the self-feeding pillows as they do not comply with safety requirements.