Lactalis Recalls Baby Milk Products After 26 Children Fall Ill

Following 26 cases of children falling ill in France after consuming products sold by Lactalis, the dairy giant Sunday was forced to issue a worldwide recall of their baby milk formulas over salmonella contamination fears.

According to Lactalis spokesman Michel Nalet, about 70,000 tons of baby milk products were feared to have been contaminated. The company is yet to assess exactly how much of the contaminated product has been consumed and how much remains in stocks still, BBC reported.

The source of the contamination is believed to be a tower in one of the company’s factories, used to dry out the baby milk formulas, in Craon, northwest France. The company said it is taking all the necessary measures to disinfect its machinery in the factory so that no other case of contamination is repeated in the future. The contamination is believed to have taken place around the middle of February. Hence, all products manufactured around the time were recalled.

Safety concerns over products manufactured by Lactalis began when 20 children under the age of six fell severely ill in France in the beginning of December. They were believed to have contracted salmonella, a bacteria that causes food poisoning and symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. The bacteria comes from the intestine of farm animals. According to Centers for Disease Control, salmonellosis, an infection caused by salmonella, usually starts between 12 and 72 hours after one contracts the bacteria and can last up to a week.

While most people get well without requiring medical treatment, in some cases people with salmonellosis may need to be hospitalized. Mostly infants or elderly people with impaired immune systems are more prone to develop a severe form of the illness. They run the risk of extreme dehydration after becoming ill.

Lactalis, one of the world’s largest dairy producers, sells its baby milk powder products in countries such as Britain, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sudan. Its brands like Milumel, Picot, and Celi market their products all around the world.

During the initial stage of suspecting that their baby milk products might be compromised, Lactalis announced a limited call-back of units, which were potentially contaminated. However, with six more children falling ill in the second week of December, it became increasingly clear that the measures taken by the company to contain the situation had not worked.

As it turned out, one of the infants out of the six had consumed a milk product that was not included in the initial recall of 12 Lactalis products. This caused the French government to order a ban on all baby milk formula milk and baby food products made by Lactalis, forcing the company to revise its limited recall.

Following the ban, Nalet also went on a French network, informing the viewers that Lactalis products bought by them could be exchanged in their nearest pharmacies or supermarkets. He also said that salmonella bacteria could be killed by boiling the milk for two minutes, South China Morning Post reported.