Some 36 children have been reported as having symptoms of poisoning following recalls for infant and follow-on formulas over potential toxin contaminations, it was announced today.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said it received “36 clinical notifications” with its partner agencies for the children who “consumed implicated batches” and have symptoms consistent with cereulide toxin poisoning, as of February 3.
There have been 24 cases in England, seven in Scotland, three in Wales, one in Northern Ireland and one in the Crown Dependencies, with 17 boys, 16 girls and three unknown children affected.
Read more: Second infant formula toxin recall by FSA this month
It comes after Nestlé issued recalls for 12 formula products across 37 countries on January 5 over contamination fears.
It updated its recall on February 3 to include an SMA First Infant Milk 800g batch sold in Northern Ireland, yet said there had been “no confirmed reports of any illness associated with consumption of the products concerned”.
Danone recalled one batch of infant formula on January 24.
Read more: Pharmacies to ‘review’ baby formula stock amid toxin recall
Food Standards Agency (FSA) head of incidents Jodie Wild said the contamination “originated from a shared third-party ingredient supplier”.
The FSA confirmed to C+D that the affected ingredient is arachidonic acid (ARA) oil and Danone’s supplier is the same as the one that Nestlé had detected a “quality issue” with.
Symptoms
A European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) threats report said the potential exposure to the toxin is “low to moderate” depending on the child’s age.
The risk to children less than one year is “moderate”.
UKHSA said symptoms occur between 15 minutes to up to six hours and are “most commonly vomiting” but can include stomach cramping and diarrhoea.
Read more: ‘Discoloured’ paracetamol recalled over contamination fears
Symptoms usually resolve within 24 hours “without ongoing exposure” to the toxin and it “rarely causes more significant illness”.
It added those who are immunocompromised are at high risk.
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UKHSA said it is “closely surveilling multiple healthcare systems” as it investigates the incident.
The FSA has told consumers to “consult a pharmacist or other medical professional” if the formula was prescribed for their baby and they want to change it.
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”.
