The baby powder formula could be linked to at least five baby diseases, including possibly two deaths, the Food and Drug Administration warned earlier this week. But there may be more cases than reported, CBS News has learned.
Natalie Coseli and Tyler Rowland say their son Hayes suddenly had a fever and blood in his diaper before turning pale and lethargic in late October. The 2-month-old was admitted to a children’s hospital in Texas and is related to IV.
“The doctors didn’t know what was going on,” Rowland, the baby’s father, told CBS News. “It was unreal. Very, very scary.”
Eventually, his doctors diagnosed him with a salmonella infection.
“I just said to myself, how’s this going?” said the Goats.
Four months later, there was a potential answer – the Similac formula that Hayes’ parents fed him is among the four recently launched brands of baby powder formula. All were made by Abbott Labs at the Sturgess, Michigan plant.
In February, the FDA announced that five babies – all of whom had now consumed the withdrawn formula, according to their parents – had contracted Salmonella or Cronobacter, which could cause meningitis or sepsis. Two of the babies have died.
“We have information that suggests that as early as September 2021, there were complaints to the FDA about an outbreak of the Cronobacter food pathogen at the facility in Sturgess, Michigan,” lawyer Scott Schlesinger, representing Coselli and Rowland, told CBS News. “So, when you have such outbreaks, you need a trusted manufacturer on whom consumers depend to act quickly, responsibly, without hesitation.
Schlesinger and his law firm have filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of another family whose child has also been diagnosed with salmonella. So far, he represents eight families with babies who are said to have consumed withdrawn Abbott products that are not included in the number of FDA cases, he said.
Abbott told CBS News in a statement that stored samples from the withdrawn batches were negative for Cronobacter and Salmonella and that “the cause of the babies’ infections is currently unknown.”
Schlesinger said an investigation into the company’s testing practices should begin.
“Unfortunately, we often find that there have been shortcuts, there has been inattention, there has been supervision, there has been an inadequate assessment of food safety. And so things go public, and consumers are the ones who pay the price, “said a lawyer.
During an FDA inspection of the Sturgis plant in September, the agency issued five citations, including inadequate hand washing and improper maintenance of a building used to produce and package baby food.
During another inspection, the FDA found “several positive results from Cronobacter from environmental samples.” An FDA review of Abbott’s internal documents also showed that Abbott had previously destroyed the formula due to this contamination.
The FDA deputy commissioner said the agency was still investigating complaints.
“Recent childhood illnesses and deaths from exposure to certain withdrawn powdered infant formulas produced at the Abbott plant are tragic and of great concern to all of us. Our first and foremost priority is to ensure that every product withdrawn is released and to work with the USDA and manufacturers to ensure that parents have access to an alternative, safe formula for infants, “said Frank Janas, Deputy Commissioner. of the FDA on Food Policy and Response, in a statement to CBS News.
Janas added that “the investigation is ongoing”.
Hayes is now 6 months old and doing well, but his family says his body is still healing.
“It’s horrifying to hear that this has happened,” Koseli said. “There are two babies who have died. It’s really sad.”
Abbott has created a web page where you can check if the batch number of your powder formula is included in the download: https://www.similacrecall.com/us/en/product-lookup.html. Users can get more information at www.similacrecall.com on how to get a refund or replacement, or call Similac customer service at 1-800-986-8540.
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Nicky Batiste
