More batches of Aptamil and Cow & Gate formula recalled

Danone has issued further recalls of infant and follow-on formula because of the potential presence of a toxin.

The affected products relate to specific batches of Aptamil and Cow & Gate formula which may contain cereulide, which can cause food poisoning.

It comes after the major French food company was forced in January to issue a recall in Ireland of an Aptamil product after initially giving assurances it had not been sold in the country.

The product had been distributed to Ireland through online sales via Boots.ie.

The expanded recall, detailed by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) on Friday, now covers six different products across the Aptamil and Cow & Gate brands.

The FSAI said this comes after the European Food Safety Authority’s publication on Monday of a recommended acute reference dose for cereulide in infant formula.

The FSAI is advising parents, guardians and caregivers who may have the recalled products at home not to feed them to their infant or young child.

It said no cases of human illness linked to the affected products have been confirmed to date in Ireland.

In addition, Danone is undertaking a wider recall of infant formula, follow-on formula, and base powder manufactured in Ireland for export to a number of EU countries, the UK and third countries.

While the infant formula and follow-on formula included in this wider recall are exported, some products previously re-entered Ireland through online sales.

The recall in Ireland is an evolving global issue relating to a contaminated raw ingredient which was also implicated in the recent recall of some batches of infant formula and follow-on formula by Nestle in its SMA product line.

An ingredient, ARA oil, which was manufactured in China, was contaminated with cereulide and added as an ingredient in base powder used to make infant formula and follow-on formula.

FSAI chief executive Greg Dempsey said the safety of infants and young children is of the “utmost importance” to the body.

He said: “We are in close communication with the infant formula manufacturers and retailers to ensure they are taking all appropriate actions to ensure that any potentially unsafe products are recalled from consumers and no longer on the market.

The FSAI and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, who regulate the Danone manufacturing facilities in Ireland, continue to engage with the company on its food safety measures.

In a statement, Danone reiterated that it “never compromises on food safety” and said it wanted to reassure all parents that “we take this responsibility seriously”.

It said all its baby formulas are produced under strict food safety and quality standards and undergo rigorous checks before leaving its factories.

It said the recall was in line with the latest guidance and that “low levels of cereulide were identified in some specific batches and we have replaced them with new products”.

It said all products available for purchase are safe to use.

– A list of affected products and their identifying expiry dates is available at: www.fsai.ie/news-and-alerts/food-alerts/danone-recall-of-batches-of-aptamil-and-cow-gate-i