Abbott Baby Formula Recall Expands After Second Infant Dies
The United States Food and Drug Administration has alerted over the possible contamination of some powdered baby formula foods with bacterial infections.
The company in question Abbott Nutrition says it is recalling one lot of Similac PM 60/40 powdered infant formula due to reports of a dangerous bacterial infection known as Cronobacter.
Report from a verified source says that, three children were infected with Cronobacter, a bacteria that can cause severe, life-threatening infections or inflammation of the membranes that protect the brain and spine.
The third infection was from Salmonella, a group of bacteria that can cause digestive illness and fever.
The infection may have led to the death of a baby in Texas while four other babies have been hospitalised,
The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention and report says they are investigating reports and complaints of infant illness related to the baby formula from the US company.
On Monday the a verified source announced that a child consumed Similac PM 60/40 before getting a Cronobacter sakazakii infection and dying from it. The agency said the infection “may have been a contributing cause of death” for the child.
The company recalled the formula with the lot code 27032K800 on Monday while stating that none of the distributed product has tested positive for the presence of Cronobacter sakazakii.
Earlier in February, report had warned that people avoid Similac, Alimentum or EleCare powdered infant formulas if the first two digits of the code are 22 through 37, if the code on the container contains K8, SH or Z2 and expiration date is April 1, 2022, or later.
In their news release, Abbott Nutrition had said, “During testing in our Sturgis, Mich., facility, we found evidence of Cronobacter sakazakii in the plant in non-product contact areas.
“We found no evidence of Salmonella Newport. Importantly, no distributed product has tested positive for the presence of either of these bacteria, and we continue to test.”
However, report do not include liquid formula products hence consumers should continue to use all products not included in the recalls.
PHW