In February, the FDA reported that five infants – all of whom were consuming the now-recalled mixture, according to their parents – became infected with salmonella or chronobacter.
NEW YORK – Powdered baby formula can be associated with at least five childhood diseases, including possibly two deaths, warned earlier this week the Office of Food and Drug Administration. But there may be more cases than reported, CBS News reports.
Natalie Caselli and Tyler Rowland say their son Hayes suddenly had a fever, his diaper had blood, and in late October he became pale and lethargic. A 2-month-old baby was hospitalized at Texas Children’s Hospital and connected to IV.
“The doctors didn’t know what was going on,” Rowland, the child’s father, told CBS News. “It was unrealistic. It’s very, very scary. ”
In the end, doctors diagnosed him with salmonella.
“I was just wondering how it happens?” Kazeli said.
Four months later, a possible answer emerged – Similac’s formula, which Hayes’ parents fed him, is among the four recently remembered baby powder mix brands. All were made by Abbott Labs at its plant in Sturgis, Michigan.
In February, the FDA reported five babies – all of whom, according to their parents, used the now-withdrawn formula – became infected with salmonella or chronobacter, which can cause meningitis or sepsis. Two of the babies died.
“We have information that back in September 2021, the FDA received complaints about an outbreak of Cronobacter pathogen at a plant in Sturgis, Michigan,” said CBS News lawyer Scott Schlesinger, who represents the interests of Cassel and Rowland. “And so if you have such outbreaks, you need a reliable manufacturer on whom consumers depend to act quickly, responsibly, not to worry.”
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Schlesinger and his law firm filed a collective complaint on behalf of another family, the child, the child was also diagnosed with salmonella. It still represents eight families with infants who allegedly consumed Abbott’s recalled products that are not included in the FDA’s case count, he said.
Ebat told CBS News in a statement that the surviving samples of the recalled parties were negative for both Chronobacter and Salmonella, and that “at the moment, the cause of the infant infection has not been determined.”
Schlesinger said an investigation into the company’s testing practice should be launched.
“Unfortunately, we often find that there were shortcuts, there was negligence, there was surveillance, there was an inadequate assessment of food safety. And so everything goes public, and the price is paid by consumers,” he said. said the lawyer.
During an FDA inspection of the Sturgis plant in September, the agency released five citations, including inadequate hand washing and improper maintenance of the building used to produce and package the baby formula.
During another inspection, the FDA found “several positive results of Cronobacter in environmental testing.” An FDA review of Abbott’s internal documents also revealed that Abbott had previously destroyed the formula due to this contamination.
The FDA deputy commissioner said the agency continues to investigate complaints.
“The recent illnesses and deaths of infants caused by some of the withdrawn baby formulas withdrawn at Abbott are tragic and of great concern to all of us. Our first and foremost priority is to ensure that any withdrawn product is withdrawn from the market and work with the USDA and manufacturers to ensure parents have access to an alternative, safe baby formula, ”said Frank Jannas, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response, in a statement to CBS News.
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Jannas added that “the investigation is ongoing.”
Hayes is now 6 months old and he is feeling well, but his family says his body is still being treated.
“It’s horrible to hear it happened,” Caselli said. “There are two babies who have died. It’s very sad.”
Abbott has created a web page where you can check if the batch number of your powder formula is included in the recall: https://www.similacrecall.com/us/en/product-lookup.html. Consumers can get more information at www.similacrecall.com about how to get a refund or replacement, or call Similac Support at 1-800-986-8540.
