SFA recalls 2 infant formula products due to presence of toxin

SINGAPORE – The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has recalled two infant formula products after they were found to contain cereulide toxin, following an earlier order to stop selling affected batches from Nestle.

The two products may have used the same raw ingredient supplied by the same source used in

five earlier batches of Nestle’s infant and follow-on formulas

, said SFA and the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) in a joint statement on Jan 17.

The agencies also reported one case in which a child had consumed an affected product and exhibited mild symptoms likely associated with cereulide exposure. The child has since recovered.

However, the statement noted that no definitive clinical laboratory tests have been conducted to confirm cereulide poisoning.

CDA said it is working closely with SFA and is conducting surveillance with medical practitioners to monitor for potential cases of cereulide poisoning in children.

Consumers who have bought the two affected products are advised not to feed them to children, the statement added.

Those whose children have consumed these products and are unwell should seek medical advice promptly, the agencies said.

The affected products are:

Cereulide is a toxin produced by some strains of the Bacillus cereus bacterium, which can cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhoea, the statement said.

It added: “The symptoms, which typically appear between 30 minutes and six hours from consumption of an affected food item, will usually resolve within 24 hours.

“Vulnerable populations such as infants and immunocompromised persons are at higher risk of complications.”

SFA also confirmed that a Singapore-based manufacturer, SMC Nutrition, had used the same raw ingredient in some of their infant formula products meant for export.

It has directed SMC Nutrition to stop the export of the affected products and notified the relevant authority of the importing country.

The authorities said that the implicated batches of imported infant formula products make up less than 5 per cent of Singapore’s imported supply of infant formula products.

They added they are a “minority of the diversity of infant formula products in Singapore” and that SFA will continue to engage importers and manufacturers to monitor the situation closely.

Nestle on Jan 5 said it was issuing

a recall of batches of infant formula

in several European countries, including France, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Italy and Sweden.

The recall was taken as a precaution after the Swiss food giant said it detected a “quality issue” in an ingredient sourced from one of its major suppliers.

On Jan 8, the recall was

extended to Africa, the Americas and Asia

. At least 37 countries have issued health warnings over the infant formulas, likely linked to contamination. So far, there have been no reports of anyone falling ill in these countries.