French group Lactalis on Wednesday announced a worldwide recall of batches of infant formula over worries they contained a toxin. The countries concerned are: Australia, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Georgia, Greece, Kuwait, Madagascar, Mexico, Monaco, Spain, Peru, Taiwan and Uzbekistan.
“Lactalis Nutrition Santé (LNS) is voluntarily recalling six batches of Picot brand infant milk, available in pharmacies and supermarkets, due to the presence of cereulide in an ingredient sourced from a supplier,” it said in a statement.
Cereulide, a substance of bacterial origin, may cause diarrhoea and vomiting, the statement said. Lactalis did not name the supplier behind the tainted ingredient. It published a list of six lot numbers, but stressed that all other batches were safe.
“We are fully aware that this information may cause concern among parents of young children,” it said. But French authorities had not signalled to them “any claim nor any report related to the consumption of these products”.
Third recall this year
The infant formula industry has been rocked by recalls in recent weeks.
Singapore authorities on Saturday recalled Dumex baby formula, a brand owned by French food giant Danone.
Read moreNestle recalls infant formula in several European countries
Danone said the authorities blocked just “a few pallets” of Dumex, indicating they were not yet on any store shelves.
The move comes after Nestlé also called back batches of infant milk in several European countries on January 6.
Nestlé France said it was carrying out a “preventive and voluntary recall” of certain batches of its Guigoz and Nidal infant formulas after new investigations showed the potential presence of cereulide.
French health authorities said Tuesday an investigation was underway after the death of a baby who had consumed milk from one of the batches recalled by Nestlé, though no link has been established between its consumption and the death at this stage.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)
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