Nestlé baby formula recall: French authorities criticised over response time
One infant died after drinking the formula although no causal link has officially been identified
Up to 60 families are reported to have informed the authorities that their infants had fallen sick after ingesting baby formula before the recall was announced. Photo for illustrative purposes
Guillermo Spelucin R/Shutterstock
An investigation into Nestlé baby formula and the authorities’ response to reported health issues from it is underway in France with the results due to be released next week.
It comes as several Nestlé products have been recalled worldwide due to the potential presence of a dangerous toxin.
Parents across France allegedly reported symptoms of illness to health authorities some time before a mass recall and shelf clearance of the formula was put in place earlier this month.
One infant who ingested the product died although no causal link has been officially identified as investigations continue.
Formula producer Nestlé was allegedly aware of the toxin issue as early as mid-December, but did not issue a recall on certain products in France until January 6.
An official investigation has been launched with both the French health authorities and Nestlé criticised for their response to the health risk.
Formula contained potentially harmful toxin
Baby formula products from several Nestlé brands were recalled over the potential presence of cereulide, a cytotoxin that can cause vomiting and diarrhoea when ingested.
Severe cases, as well as prolonged ingestion, can lead to complex health issues.
The bacteria that causes cereulide to appear can survive high temperatures that usually kill other bacteria.
In France, the recall included the Guigoz and Nidal ranges – more information available here through the official Rappel Conso recall website – and in the UK the ‘Sma’ brand (information on the UK recall available here).
Several other precautionary recalls were issued worldwide.
Nestlé says the bacteria originated in a batch of arachidonic acid from a supplier used in several formulas under the company’s umbrella.
Symptoms from ingesting cereulide appear within 24 hours but often no later than an hour after ingestion and can cause severe digestion issues and refusal to feed.
An investigation by Radio France claimed that in December and the beginning of January, around 60 families in France alerted authorities including local poison control agencies over a potential issue before a recall was announced.
Health authorities reportedly did not initially test any of the milk from families who contacted them despite regulations stating food sources must be tested as soon as two people report an illness after consuming the same product.
“A causal link between the symptoms and the consumption of the implicated milk has not been established in any of the reported cases,” France’s Health Ministry crisis centre initially said.
Despite several families asking for their products to be tested, the only laboratory capable of conducting such tests in France cannot be contacted directly, and test demands must pass through several bureaucratic stages to be approved, claimed Radio France.
Some families reported their requests being turned down [this was before the recall was in place and no other cases had officially been reported], and others were said to have been told it would be ‘a waste of money’ to conduct tests.
However, following the death of an infant confirmed to have ingested Guigoz milk affected by the recall, an investigation was launched with the findings set to be released next week.
The death came after Nestlé released a video where CEO Philipp Navratil said the recall was “precautionary,” and that “no cases of illness linked to the products have been confirmed.”
“A baby drinks a bottle every three hours, and prolonged consumption of milk contaminated with this toxin significantly increases the risk of poisoning,” said food safety lawyer Nathalie Goutaland to Radio France.
Did Nestlé delay the recall?
Nestlé has been criticised for its handling of the recall, particularly due to the number of parents reportedly registering sickness symptoms in their infants.
On December 11, Italy reported an issue with baby formula to the European Union's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF).
A subsequent recall for some formula was issued, but only from batches produced in the Netherlands (the origin of the Italian product).
While this applied to millions of batches from over 60 countries, many others were not included.
France’s Agriculture Ministry said the wider recall came after “Nestlé's clarification of the causes of the contamination observed in the Netherlands.”
"It is neither rare nor unusual for the scope of an alert to be broadened in light of new information acquired by operators,” it added.
However, Nestlé began tests on formula produced at its French factory in mid-December, and by December 26 the presence of the toxin was confirmed.
The company discarded more than 800,000 products yet to be sent out, but did not launch a recall on products recently distributed from the factory including to French stores until January 6 – nearly two weeks later.
Nestlé said it carried out the recall “as soon as traceability was complete, in coordination with the authorities.” France’s Agriculture Ministry did not comment on the issue.
Furthermore, Nestlé continues to state that “at this stage, any confirmed cases of childhood illness directly linked to the products in question," has not been officially confirmed.
"Confirming any case related to consumption of the product requires medical information, in order to also rule out common infections - particularly frequent at this time of year,” it adds.
