Abbott infant formula recalled over botulism concerns

Abbott infant formula recalled over botulism concerns

China's consumer quality watchdog said Tuesday that it has asked a Chinese arm of U.S. infant formula producer Abbott Laboratories to recall two batches of potentially tainted milk powder over botulism concerns.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) was alerted by the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing on Monday night that two batches of Abbott-brand products manufactured by the New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra may have been tainted by the botulinum bacteria.

Abbott said in a statement that these two batches of products were not made from contaminated raw materials from Fonterra, but they were packaged in Fonterra's production lines. The lines were not fully sanitized after producing tainted products.

Abbott has started preemptive recalls of two batches of Stage 3 infant formula manufactured on May 2, 2013.

The recalled products include 7,181 boxes, including 112 boxes that have already been sold. The remaining 7,069 boxes in inventory have been sealed, according to Abbott.

Consumers who purchased relevant products are asked to contact the company.

Fonterra said Friday that some of its whey protein concentrate was found to be contaminated with clostridium botulinum, a bacteria that can cause food poisoning. The concentrate was used in products including infant milk powder and sports drinks.

质检总局要求雅培召回可能被肉毒杆菌污染的产品

国家质检总局5日晚接到新西兰驻华使馆通报,称新西兰恒天然集团为雅培（上海）贸易有限公司生产的两批次婴幼儿配方奶粉存在被肉毒杆菌污染的风险.质检总局已要求雅培公司履行主体责任,召回相关产品,切实保护中国消费者健康.

雅培当晚发布声明,称决定主动召回2个批次产品并销毁,原因为在恒天然公司包装线上实施包装,但该包装生产线在使用有问题原料后未经彻底清洗即开始包装雅培产品.

被召回的产品是雅培幼儿喜康力（3段）900克／罐,涉及批次为287834K402、287844K402,生产时间均为今年5月2日.雅培表示,这两批次产品共有7181箱,除约112箱已售出外,其余7069箱已被隔离封存.