At least three popular baby formulas manufactured at an Abbott plant in Michigan were issued warnings by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after an infant died and three others fell ill. The warnings by US health officials on Thursday came after investigators recently linked the said baby formulas to bacterial contamination leading to three hospitalizations and one death.
The FDA is investigating four reports of infants who were hospitalized after consuming the said formulas, including one of them who died. The agency further informed that one of the cases involved salmonella while the other three involved Cronobacter sakazakiim, which is a dangerous germ that is responsible for causing blood infections and other serious complications. The infections were reported in Minnesota, Ohio, and Texas.
FDA on Thursday asked buyers to avoid Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare formulas if the first two digits of the code are 22 through 37, the code on the container includes K8, SH, or Z2, and the expiration date is April 1, 2022, or later.
Abbott noted that the affected products can be identified by the number on the bottom of each container. Alternatively, customers can also type the code at the bottom of the container at similacrecall.com to check if their product is affected or call 800-986-8540.
Product Recall
One of the country's largest instant baby formulae manufacturers, Abbott noted that it is recalling all the aforementioned products. The company said in a statement that the products were distributed throughout the US and overseas. Baby formulas like Similac are among the best-selling in the US and overseas.
An inspection of Abbott's plant in Sturgis, Michigan is being done by the FDA after samples from the same facility tested positive for the Cronobacter bacteria. Not only this but potential manufacturing problems were also unveiled along with past records showing the destruction of formula due to bacterial contamination.
FDA Deputy Commissioner Frank Yiannas said that they are 'working diligently with our partners to investigate complaints related to these products, which we recognize include infant formula produced at this facility, while we work to resolve this safety concern as quickly as possible.'
A company spokesperson said in a statement that they value the trust parents place in them for high quality and safe nutrition. "We'll do whatever it takes to keep that trust and resolve this situation," the statement added.
