Baby Formula Recall Issued Amid Possible Cronobacter, Salmonella Contamination: Which Brands Are Involved?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning on Abbot's baby formula due to contamination of Cronobacter and Salmonella.

The FDA issued the warning on Abbot's three milk formulas known as Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare, per Local 12.

The warning was issued by the FDA after Abbot issued a voluntary baby formula recall on their products as the agency investigated complaints of Cronobacter sakazakii and Salmonella newport infections from three states.

FDA then advised parents not to use Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare powdered infant formulas if the first two digits of the code are 22 through 37; the code on the container contains K8, SH, or Z2; and the expiration dates on the containers is 4-1-2022 or later.

According to FDA, Cronobacter may cause severe, life-threatening infections or meningitis. Meanwhile, Salmonella makes people develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps, and its severe cases may cause symptoms, including high fever, headaches, rash, or blood in the urine or stool.

Baby Formula Recalls

Wink News reported that the baby formula recall was voluntarily issued by Abbott after complaints of four infants affected.

Abbott noted that the impacted EleCare, Alimnetum, and Similac were manufactured in Sturgis, Michigan. The company furthered that they also found evidence of Cronobacter sakazakii during their routine testing.

Abbott's senior director for global public affairs, Vicky Assardo, said that their company does "extensive quality checks" for every batch of their formula before it is issued for release.

Assardo stressed that those tests include screening for Salmonella newport, Cronobacter sakazakii, and other pathogens.

"We value the trust parents place in us for high quality and safe nutrition and we'll do whatever it takes to keep the trust and resolve this situation, Abbot's spokesperson said in the statement.

Baby Formula Recall: 4 Infants Fell Ill, 1 Dead Over Contaminated Milk

The voluntary recalls from Abbott came at least four infants reportedly fell ill due to the contaminated baby formulas, per FDA. The agency furthered that one infant death was also associated with the contaminated baby formulas.

FDA noted that the infants who developed a disease due to the baby formulas were from the states of Minnesota, Ohio, and Texas. Furthermore, the agency stressed that all four cases related to the complaints - three fell ill from Cronobacter and one from Salmonella - were hospitalized.

Meanwhile, Cronobacter potentially contributed to the death of one infant.

In response, the FDA noted that they are conducting investigations on the issue.

"As this is a product used as the sole source of nutrition for many of our nation's newborns and infants, the FDA is deeply concerned about these reports of bacterial infections," FDA Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy Response Frank Yiannas said in a statement.

Yiannas added that they want to "reassure" the public they work "diligently" with their partners to probe the complaints on the baby formulas, and they want to resolve the issue "as quickly as possible."

FDA is currently working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as state and local partners in probing the issue concerning the baby formulas that were recalled.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

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