A brand of infant formula has been recalled in Slovakia because of Cronobacter sakazakii contamination.
The Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic (UVZSR) said the issue was detected as part of official food controls by authorities. No related illnesses have been reported.
The affected goat’s milk infant formula was made in the Czech Republic by Goldim. The product is “Naše mléko 1” with a date of Oct. 31, 2023, and lot number L430. It is intended for infants up to 6 months of age.
The product was analyzed in an accredited regional public health authority (RÚVZ) laboratory and it did not comply with the microbiological legislation for Cronobacter sakazakii.
UVZSR said this means the formula is considered not to be safe and should be withdrawn from the market.
The agency added Cronobacter sakazakii can cause serious illness and strongly recommended that consumers do not purchase or use the implicated products and advised people to return them to the point of sale.
Earlier this year, Cronobacter was detected in another formula from a different producer in the Czech Republic and sent to Moldova. Two lot codes of Numil initial infant milk formula made by Corinos House s.r.o. were recalled in June.
Cronobacter was also found during Australian testing of infant formula made in Europe. A batch of KetoCal 3:1 was positive after sampling at the border by Australian customs officials. Nutricia, which is owned by Danone, said testing before the batch left the production plant and after did not find Cronobacter.
Cronobacter infection in infants will usually start with a fever and poor feeding, excessive crying, grunting while breathing or very low energy. Some may also have seizures. If your child develops these symptoms, take them to a doctor as soon as possible. Those more likely to get sick from Cronobacter infections include infants 2 months and younger, and those born prematurely or with weakened immune systems, such as those undergoing chemotherapy.
In the United States, baby formula made by Abbott Nutrition was linked to cronobacter infections in at least four babies in the country from 2021 to 2022, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two of the babies died and huge recalls of infant formula trigged a shortage of formula. Abbott says it did not find any contamination in its finished formula and continues to deny any link to the illnesses.
(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)
