Baby milk crisis: more toxins found

AFTER TWO product recalls, we now have a third recall. All the recalls were issued worldwide, involving some 60 countries. The actions are being taken because cereulide, a toxin which can cause vomiting and stomach cramps, has been found in the formula.

Thirty-six babies in the UK have already been found suffering these symptoms after drinking contaminated formula. Fortunately, none of them is seriously ill.

Parents may have assumed that infant formula had just one ingredient: milk. It seems this is not the case. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has explained that the toxin was contained in arachidonic acid oil – a product added to formula to help it deliver some of the benefits that breast milk does.

The first recall came from Nestle, which produces SMA infant formula, on 6th January. Danone, which makes Aptamil and Cow & Gate, issued two recalls: the second of them on 6th February – a whole month after Nestle had acted. Why the delay? How long does it take to test past batches of product? Do the companies keep samples of each batch of their product so they can test it quickly if there is a problem? If not, why not?

Even more importantly: why are the formula manufacturers not testing their product before it leaves the factory and goes out to shops? Danone has issued a statement saying that it never compromises on food safety and formula undertakes rigorous checks before it leaves the factory. Perhaps they are not the right rigorous tests.

The FSA has said that the supplier who provided the toxic oil has been traced and is no longer supplying the industry. As shops should have taken the suspect batches off the shelves, products on sale now should be safe – so the warning is mainly targeted at parents and carers who have stocks of formula which may be from the affected batches.

The question now is: can this happen again?

●To check which batches are affected look on this FSA page and follow the link to the brand you have:
Food Safety Agency

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