Stop Using This Gerber Formula! FDA issues SECOND recall for tainted baby powder after distributors continue to ship
A baby formula made by one of America’s “big four” manufacturers has been recalled for a second time – after companies continued to sell the tainted powder.
Michigan-based Perrigo Company urged Americans to stop using certain batches of its Gerber Good Start SoothePro formula in mid-March when tests discovered a bacteria that could be deadly to children under two months of age living on lurk in the formula.
But on Sunday, the product had to be recalled again after it was discovered that the powder had been sent to independent supermarkets in eight different states even after the alert was sent.
Americans who purchased the powder have been urged to throw it in the trash immediately and contact Perrigo for a refund.
While no illnesses have been reported, the Food and Drug Administration is urging parents to watch for fevers, poor eating and excessive crying if their child consumes formula.
Pictured above is the baby formula being recalled for the second time. It is being recalled again because retailers were still distributing and selling the product
The message was re-released on May 14 by food retailer Associated Wholesale Grocers, which admitted to still selling the product.
“Any consumer who has purchased a product…should stop using it and throw the product away,” they said.
Parties that were recalled were sent to eight states. These were: Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
On March 17, Perrigo issued a recall notice for nine lots of its Gerber Good Start SoothePro™ infant formula powder.
They said the move stemmed from “an abundance of caution” after tests showed the formula was contaminated with Cronobacter sakazakii.
This bacteria occurs naturally in the environment and is particularly adept at surviving in moisture-deficient, dry foods, such as baby powder.
It is harmless to most people, but in rare cases can be fatal for babies under two months old because it can infect the blood or cause swelling in the lining of the brain and spinal cord (meningitis).
It wasn’t clear how the bacteria got into the baby powder, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it can happen if the formula comes in contact with a contaminated surface or if the ingredients used are already contaminated.
Perrigo also had a recall due to the bacteria in 2019, when the contamination was spotted in formula sold at Walmart.
All affected baby food was produced between January 2 and January 18.
Gerber Good Start is aimed at babies up to a year old, with marketing claiming the formula can help with excessive crying, fussiness, and gas.
It is currently out of stock on the Gerber website.
There are only four companies that produce baby food in the US: Abbott Laboratories, Mead Johnson, Perrigo Company PLC and Nestle.
This incident brings back terrible memories of the horrific baby food shortage that hit the US last year.
The formula shortage came about in February when Abbott Laboratories closed its plant in Sturgis and issued a recall while food safety regulators investigated potentially fatal contamination.
The plant was responsible for producing about one-fifth of US formula and is a major supplier of specialty formulas that special needs babies rely on to survive.
This led parents to hoard formula, compounding the shortage.
Nine months into the crisis, about a third of U.S. households said they still struggled to get baby food, according to a Census Bureau survey conducted in mid-November.
And until March of this year, empty shelves remained, but reports of parents struggling to feed their children have dwindled.