Community pharmacies have been told to review their stock of Nestlé baby formulas after the food giant issued a “precautionary” recall over potential contamination with a toxin.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said Nestlé this week (January 5) issued recalls for 12 of its SMA infant formula and follow-on formula products because they “may contain cereulide”, a toxin that can cause nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps.
Cereulide is heat‑stable and “unlikely to be deactivated or destroyed” by cooking, it added, and the possible contamination of this toxin makes the affected products “unsafe to consume”.
Read more: ‘Discoloured’ paracetamol recalled over contamination fears
Community Pharmacy England (CPE) said that pharmacies “should review their stock” of Nestlé formulas for the following products and batch codes:
- SMA Advanced First Infant Milk (800 g) – specific batch codes, best before May 2027
- SMA Advanced Follow‑On Milk (800 g)
- SMA Anti‑Reflux (800 g)
- SMA Alfamino (400 g)
- SMA First Infant Milk (400 g, 800 g & 1.2 kg)
- SMA Little Steps First Infant Milk (800 g)
- SMA Comfort (800 g)
- SMA First Infant Milk (ready‑to‑feed 70 ml & 200 ml)
- SMA Lactose‑Free (400 g)
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Nestlé said in a customer notice that any symptoms caused by the toxin would “typically appear between 30 minutes to six hours after any exposure”, and there have been “no confirmed reports of any illness” associated with consumption of the recalled products so far.
The FSA said it is “essential” that customers stop using the products concerned even if their baby is not ill, and to “consult a pharmacist” or other medical professional about changing formula if one of the recalled products has been prescribed for their baby.
Global recall
Nestlé said the recalls were issued in 37 countries worldwide after it detected a “quality issue” with an ingredient from one of its leading suppliers, and the company is now conducting a “full root-cause analysis” with them.
The company added that point of sale notices will be displayed in all stores that sell the products to “explain to customers why the products have been recalled and what to do if they have bought” them.
It also asked customers who have purchased one of the recalled products to send a photo of the product and the batch code to the company for a refund.
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It comes after the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) revealed in June that a manufacturer had recalled two batches of paracetamol as a “precautionary measure due to contamination”.
It followed “a small number of complaints of discoloured tablets found within some packs reported by healthcare professionals”, the regulator said at the time.
