Abbott Recalls "Similac" Infant Formulas Due To Beetle Contamination
Abbott Recalls "Similac" Infant Formulas Due To Beetle Contamination
Similac Brand Infant Powder Formulas Recalled
"Abbott, the makers of Similac Brand baby formulas is voluntarily recalling some powder formulas. An internal quality review showed a small chance there could be some small beetles in the mix. Ingesting the insect could cause discomfort in the infant's intestinal tract".
Abbott Laboratories is voluntarily recalling millions of containers of Similac powdered infant formulas, which will result in loss of $100 million in revenue-Reuters reports.
The recall was triggered after two consumers reported beetles were found in the product of concern. But Abbott spokeswoman Melissa Brotz was cited as saying that the decision to recall the products was made before the company received the reports.
Brotz said less than 5 million containers of Similac are affected by the recall and the product are distributed and sold in the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico and other Caribbean markets.
She also said that the company tested extensively every product on the line after the problem emerged and found more than 99.8 percent of the containers did not contain any beetle.
The recall affects only the powdered infant formulas, not the liquid form of infant formulas, Brotz was cited as saying.
All the infant formulas made on the same Michigan factory line are subject to the recall due to the unlikely possibility of contamination.
The recall lowered shares of the company by 0.7 percent today, according to AFP. In comparison, Abbott's competitor Mead Johnson Nutrition Co, which makes Enfamil infant formula, saw its shares up 1.7 percent.
The contamination does not pose any immediate health risk, Brotz said. However, there may be a possibility that infants who consume the tainted infant formulas could experience gastrointestinal discomfort and refusal to eat the food, she added.
Infant formula is a product indicated for infants younger than six months to use. It can be based on cow milk protein like whey and casein or soy protein.
"Abbott understands that parents expect to feed their children only the highest quality product," Holger Liepmann ,executive vice president of Abbott Nutrition, a division of Abbott Laboratories, said in the statement. "We are taking this action so that parents know that the infant formula products they provide unquestionably meet the highest quality standards for which they are known."
The WHO released a report in 2001 saying that infant formula prepared in accord with applicable Codex Alimentarius standards is nutritionally adequate and is a safe complementary food and can serve as a breast milk substitute.
However, the world health organization also recommends in the report that infants should be breastfed exclusively for the first six months of life.
A recent U.S. survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that as many as 70 to 90 percent of mothers in the U.S. initiate breastfeeding after birth, but about 45 or 50 percent of them can breastfeed their babies for a period of six months.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said infants that consume the contaminated formula may experience stomach discomfort and may refuse to eat as a result of irritation to the gastrointestinal tract, according to the statement.
Quality Checks
Abbott detected the problem last week through routine quality checks of not-yet-shipped formula and "immediately stopped production, "Kelly Morrison, a company spokeswoman, said today in a telephone interview. Subsequent testing of the entire inventory of Similac made in the Sturgis plant showed that 99.8 percent was uncontaminated, she said.
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