Reckitt and Mead Johnson Nutrition, the makers of Enfamil and Nutramigen, recently announced a recall of thousands of infant formula cans as a result of potential bacteria contamination.
According to Good Morning America, over 675,000 cans of baby formula are being recalled per the company announcement. The cans of Nutramigen Hypoallergenic Infant Formula Powder are geared towards infants who are allergic to cow’s milk.
“When we were alerted in December to a potential for cross-contamination in product samples outside the U.S., both Reckitt/Mead Johnson and the US FDA tested samples from the batch in question and all tests came back negative,” a Reckitt and Mead Johnson Nutrition spokesperson told ABC News in a statement. “However, Reckitt/Mead Johnson understands the incredible responsibility we have in providing what is often the sole nutrition for infants, and there can be no short cuts for this vulnerable population – therefore, we chose to recall select batches of Nutramigen out of an abundance of caution.”
The company spokesperson added, “Parents should be reassured that they can continue to feed their infants with Reckitt/Mead Johnson Nutrition products, including other Nutramigen powder formula batches, with confidence.”
And of course, parents are understandably extremely upset about this new potential bacterial contamination of their children’s source of food.
“This is happening a lot in America right now, where’s the regulatory authority,” one mother commented on a post by ABC News.
Several parents commented on the same post, thinking back, questioning whether the formula was an overall cause of their children’s vomiting conditions or was it indeed a source of the products contamination.
“My twins were on this for a short time and kept vomiting. It didn’t help their allergy at allll. Made everything worse.”
“This is crazy, my baby too,” one mother responded to the above thread. “But we assumed it was his milk tolerance. We stayed with the formula we just thickened his bottles.”
Another mother stated that these companies simply “… need to do better!!!!”
The Nutramigen Hypoallergenic Infant Formula Powder is being recalled due to a possible contamination with Cronobacter sakazakii. Cronobacter sakazakii is the same bacteria that was responsible for the 2022 baby formula shortage. This type of bacteria can be often found in dry goods such as powdered milk, infant formula and herbal tea.
Per the CDC, infection from this particular bacteria is rare but can be very dangerous for babies under 2 months, premature babies and babies with weakened immune systems. Infection symptoms from Cronobacter sakazakii in babies can present with: fever, very low energy, difficulty feeding, seizures, inflammation around the brain and spinal cord. Infection from Cronobacter sakazakii can be life-threatening.
Please check your cans of Nutramigen Hypoallergenic Infant Formula Powder. The recall details for potentially contaminated formula is as follows: affected products-Nutramigen Powder in 12.6 and 19.8 oz cans, batch codes ZL3FHG, ZL3FMH, ZL3FPE, ZL3FQD, ZL3FRW, ZL3FXJ, with UPC Codes 300871239418 or 300871239456, and “Use By Date” of “1 Jan 2025.” Distribution dates-primarily during June, July, and August 2023.
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