Britain recalls baby milk contaminated with heat-resistant toxin

Danone announced the recall of additional batches of Aptamil and Cow & Gate infant formula after dozens of infants showed symptoms suspected to be linked to poisoning from a toxic substance, leading some cases to be hospitalized.

This decision came after British health authorities reported that 36 infants across the United Kingdom showed symptoms consistent with exposure to the ciguatoxin following the consumption of contaminated baby formula.

The UK Health Security Agency received 24 reports in England, 7 in Scotland, 3 in Wales, one in Northern Ireland, and one in the British Crown Dependencies.

Symptoms included nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, with several children requiring hospital treatment.

The UK Food Standards Agency responded quickly, issuing an urgent warning to parents and caregivers to immediately check batch numbers and stop using any affected products.

Nestlé had previously recalled several SMA products due to the same contamination issue.

Authorities confirmed that all other batches of these brands not affected are safe to use, noting that companies have stopped using ingredients from the affected supplier.

Health officials indicated that the contamination source was a shared external supplier in China, and the toxin is believed to originate from arachidonic acid (ARA) oil, a natural omega-6 fatty acid optionally added to infant formula.

The toxin is known to be highly heat-resistant, meaning that boiling water or preparing the milk does not eliminate it, and it has been linked to food poisoning cases from contaminated rice, pasta, or dairy products.

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