Coin Press - Danone expands recall of infant formula batches in Europe

Several manufacturers have issued recalls in more than 60 countries since December of infant formula that could be contaminated by the cereulide toxin which can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

Danone had already issued recalls of its infant formula to Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Switzerland on Thursday, the company and national health authorities confirmed.

On Friday, the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) said "Danone is recalling several Aptamil and Cow & Gate First Infant Milk and Follow on Milk formula products because cereulide toxin may be present in some batches of the products."

It previously recalled one batch of its Aptamil First infant formula in the UK because "cereulide toxin has been found in the product," the FSA said in January.

Swiss food giant Nestle also undertook a recall of several batches of infant formula in the UK at the start of January as a precaution.

Spain's food safety agency AESAN said on Friday that "further products and batches" from Danone's Almiron and Bledina brands "are being withdrawn from marketing channels", after a first cereulide alert in January.

Recalls dated to Friday also affected Croatia and Slovenia, according to an official EU portal listing the countries served by a Danone factory in Germany that used a contaminated ingredient.

Danone had not provided a complete list of the countries affected, nor the number of batches or packages.

The recalls are however larger in terms of batches than previous recalls announced by other companies since mid-January, according to data compiled by AFP.

Danone said on Thursday: "We want to reassure all parents: our infant formulas are safe. All of our baby formulas are produced in accordance with strict food safety norms and undergo rigorous controls before leaving our factories."

- Health risk fears -

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on Thursday said it was investigating 36 cases where children developed "symptoms consistent with cereulide toxin poisoning across the UK, after consuming implicated batches".

But no cases of severe illness have been confirmed as linked to the outbreak so far in the UK.

The recall of potentially contaminated infant formula has heaped scrutiny on Chinese firm Cabio Biotech, the supplier of an ingredient used in infant formula which is suspected of being tainted.

Headquartered in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, Cabio Biotech is one of the world's largest producers of ARA, a fatty acid used primarily in baby formula and food products.

Cereulide was discovered in ARA manufactured by Cabio Biotech.

Y.Ponomarenko--CPN