Parents in the UK are being told to check their cupboards after at least 36 babies fell ill with suspected food poisoning following consumption of recalled infant formula. The UK Health Security Agency says it has been notified of young children, all around age 1 or younger, developing vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps consistent with poisoning from cereulide, a heat-stable toxin, the BBC reports. All the infants are understood to have consumed products included in recent recalls by Nestle and Danone, though officials say they cannot yet definitively confirm the toxin caused the illnesses. None of the babies are believed to be life-threateningly ill.
Cases have been reported across the UK, including 24 in England and seven in Scotland, as well as in other countries. Nestle's initial recall, which began in December, covered dozens of countries, mostly in Europe and the Americas, though the US was not among them, USA Today reports. In France, investigators are looking for a possible link between the deaths of two babies and recalled Guigoz formula, a Nestle product, reports Reuters.
The toxin was was present in an ingredient called arachidonic acid oil, used to enhance the nutritional profile of baby formula. The UK's Food Standards Agency is working with manufacturers to track down all products containing the affected ingredient and remove them from sale. Parents are urged to stop using any recalled formula immediately and switch to an alternative. Regulators say they are investigating the supply chain and have signaled they may take further action once they establish what went wrong. Reuters reports that French authorities have identified China's Cabio Biotech as the source of the contamination.
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