Nestle, the Swiss multinational food and beverage company, announced on Tuesday (January 6th) that it is recalling some batches of infant nutrition products, including SMA, BEBA, and NAN formula milk, due to potential contamination with a toxin causing infants to experience nausea and vomiting.
The company discovered a potential risk at one of its factories in the Netherlands. The Dutch food safety regulator, NVWA, reported that contaminated ingredients had been used at multiple production sites, including facilities outside the Netherlands.
The recall started in December and mainly affects Europe. Nestle stated on Monday evening that no diseases associated with the products have been confirmed.
In response to finding quality issues with raw materials from a major supplier, Nestle conducted tests on all “arachidonic acid oil and corresponding oil blends” used in their infant nutrition products that may be affected.
After the tests, Nestle began recalling the affected products, switched to an alternative supplier of arachidonic acid oil, ramped up production at several factories, and expedited the distribution of uncontaminated products from distribution centers to maintain supply.
Nestle disclosed the batch numbers of products not to be consumed that were sold in multiple countries and is working to minimize disruptions in the supply chain.
The company stated that the recall involves batches sold in Europe, Turkey, and Argentina that may be contaminated with cereulide toxin.
The Austrian Ministry of Health mentioned that this recall affects over 800 products from more than 10 Nestle factories, marking the largest recall in the company’s history.
The Food Standards Agency in the UK mentioned that “this toxin is unlikely to be deactivated or destroyed by cooking, boiling with hot water, or processing into infant formula.”
Jane Rawling, the agency’s Incident Manager, said, “Cereulide toxin can cause symptoms of food poisoning that may rapidly manifest, including vomiting and stomach cramps.”
Nestle controls nearly a quarter of the global infant nutrition market valued at $92.2 billion.
The infant formula milk of Nestle is part of its Nutrition and Health Science division, which accounted for 16.6% of total sales of 91.4 billion Swiss francs ($115.4 billion) in 2024.
Market research firm SkyQuest Technology Group reported that Nestle’s stock fell over 3% in the past two trading days.
(*This article is based on a report from Reuters*)