BONUS EPISODE: Formula Recall discussed with Steven Abrams, MD and Paul Wirkus, MD, FAAP

Abbott Nutrition announced a voluntary recall of infant powdered formula manufactured at their Sturgis facility in Michigan, including Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare. This recall comes after four consumer complaints related to Cronobacter sakazakii and Salmonella. Parents and caregivers of infants who have used these products and have concerns about the health of their child should contact the child’s health care provider.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alerted consumers to avoid purchasing and using infant powdered formula from Abbott Nutrition’s Sturgis, Michigan facility. The FDA is also investigating these consumer complaints of infections and has initiated an onsite inspection of the facility.

The FDA is advising consumers not to use Similac, Alimentum, or Elecare powdered infant formulas if the following is included in the product’s lot number:

Abbott has also developed a web-based tool to determine if the consumer’s product was included in this recall. Consumers can click here to check their product’s lot number, located at the bottom of their product.

Please note that this is a targeted recall and does not affect all Abbott products. The recall does not include liquid formula products or any metabolic deficiency nutrition formulas. The FDA states that consumers should continue to use all products not covered by the advisory. As WIC providers have consistently echoed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA advises parents and caregivers to never dilute infant formula and to never make or feed homemade infant formula to infants.

Thus far, consumer complaints included four instances of infant illnesses across three states, including Minnesota, Ohio, and Texas. In all four cases, infants were hospitalized and Cronobacter may have contributed to death in one case. Abbott product manufactured in Michigan was distributed across the country. Cronobacter bacteria can cause life-threatening infections like sepsis or meningitis. Symptoms may include poor feeding, irritability, temperature changes, jaundice, grunting breaths and abnormal movements. Salmonella are a group of bacteria that can cause gastrointestinal illness and symptoms like diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps.

similacrecall.com

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