French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist assured consumers on Friday that all batches of infant milk that may have been contaminated with the diarrhea- and vomiting-causing cereulid toxin have been recalled.. At the same time in France an investigation has begun into the deaths of two infants who allegedly drank potentially contaminated infant formula. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
French investigators are investigating the cause of death of two children who allegedly consumed Nestlé baby milk. On January 6, it withdrew its products of this type from its stores in several European countries. One of the children was only a two-week-old newborn, who died on January 8 in Bordeaux, south-west France, after drinking infant formula from a recalled batch.
The second child, who was only 27 days old, died on December 23 in the western city of Angers, the local prosecutor’s office said. The mother contacted authorities this week saying her child had also been drinking Nestlé brand milk, which had been recalled.
According to French authorities, there is currently no demonstrable link between the products and the deaths of these children. Nestlé told AFP on Friday that it would cooperate with the French authorities in the investigation. It also added that at this stage there is no evidence linking its products to infant deaths.
The French dairy giant Lactalis also announced on Wednesday that it will withdraw selected products from the market in France and other countries due to concerns that they contain the aforementioned toxin. Apart from France, the affected countries include Australia, Chile, China, Ecuador, Georgia, Greece, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kuwait, Madagascar, Mexico, Peru, Spain, Taiwan, Uzbekistan and even the Czech Republic. a Lactalis spokesperson told AFP.
