Wyeth Recalls Infant Formulas 34667
November 18, 2002
Wyeth Recalls Infant Formulas
RADNOR, Pa.--On Nov. 1, Wyeth Nutrition, a makerof soy infant formulas, initiated a voluntary recall of all batches ofstore-brand powdered milk- and soy-based instant formulas produced between July12 and Sept. 25, 2002. The company reported low levels of Enterobactersakazakii, a bacterium commonly found in the environment and not typicallyseen as a food pathogen, were detected when doing tests of retained samplesmanufactured at its Georgia, Vt.-based facility. The brands that were affectedby the recall included Baby Basics, CVS, Home Best, Healthy Baby, Kozy Kids,Hill Country Fare, Little Ones, Parent's Choice, Safeway Select and Walgreens.In total, 1 million cans were affected.
"When you ship product to the market in any sense, youalways keep batches behind and test those batches to make sure all of theprevious checks were accurate, [which acts] as sort of a safeguard," aWyeth spokesperson told INSIDER. "The interesting thing is that the Foodand Drug Administration [FDA] has not mandated for nutritional companies to testfor this particular bacterium, but we've been doing it anyway. Mead Johnson hada similar problem several years ago [with their formulas], and so since thattime, we have been testing for [the bacterium] despite the fact that there is noFDA mandate."
To date, there have been no reports of illness associated withthe affected formulas. The company reported that although the chance of becomingsick from E. sakazakii is low, it may cause health problems, such as diarrhea,especially in high-risk infants (i.e., pre-term infants born with poor immunesystems).
In April 2002, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisedhealth care providers that high-risk infants should always be fed liquidformula, which is commercially sterile. Wyeth stated that its powdered formulasare marketed for healthy, full-term infants. The company's (www.wyeth.com)liquid formulas were not affected by the recall, nor were any powdered formulasthat had been manufactured at any other facility.
You May Also Like