France’s Health Minister on Friday, January 23, 2026, sought to reassure consumers that all suspicious infant formula had been withdrawn, as an investigation began into the deaths of two babies who drank possibly contaminated powdered milk.
The infant formula industry has been rocked in recent weeks by several firms recalling batches that could be contaminated with cereulide, a toxin that can cause diarrhoea and vomiting. The potentially contaminated milk has been “withdrawn” from the market, Health Minister Stephanie Rist said.
In particular, Nestle pulled batches of infant milk in several European countries on January 6.
French investigators are looking into the cause of death of two infants who allegedly consumed Nestle milk.
One was a two-week-old who died on January 8 in Bordeaux, southwest France, after drinking milk from the now-recalled batches, a prosecutor in the city said on Thursday. The second, aged just 27 days, died on December 23 in the western city of Angers, the local prosecutor said. The mother contacted the authorities this week, saying her baby had drunk Nestle milk from one of the lots removed from the market.
At this time, there was no established causal link between the formula and their deaths, according to French authorities.
Nestle told AFP on January 23 that it would cooperate with the probes, adding there was “no evidence” at this stage linking its products to the infant deaths.
In another recall, Danone said it would “withdraw from targeted markets a very limited number of specific batches of infant formula” to comply with the latest guidance from local food safety authorities. A source close to the matter said the move followed changes introduced by authorities, notably in Ireland.
Danone later told AFP in a statement it was voluntarily recalling two batches in France as a precaution “in light of new recommendations from a European authority”. It comes after Singapore authorities on Saturday recalled Dumex baby formula, a brand owned by the French food giant.
French group Lactalis has also said it was recalling batches in France and other countries over worries they contained cereulide. Lactalis did not name the supplier behind the tainted ingredient.
Outside France, countries concerned included Australia, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo-Brazzaville, Ecuador, Spain, Madagascar, Mexico, Uzbekistan, Peru, Georgia, Greece, Kuwait, the Czech Republic and Taiwan, a Lactalis spokesperson told AFP.
Infant botulism outbreak in U.S. linked to whole-milk powder in formula
In the U.S., authorities have linked an outbreak of infant botulism across several states, caused by ByHeart’s formula to whole-milk powder, sourced from a supplier, the Food and Drug Administration said on Friday, January 23, 2026.
A sample of ByHeart’s Whole Nutrition formula tested positive for Clostridium botulinum, matching a culture taken from an affected infant, the FDA said. The samples also matched isolates of organic whole-milk powder sourced from a ByHeart supplier.
Fifty-one cases have been identified in 19 states, the latest on December 10, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All of New York-based ByHeart’s infant formula products have been recalled.
Infant botulism occurs when babies ingest spores of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, which can grow in their immature digestive systems and produce the toxin. Symptoms include constipation, poor feeding, loss of head control and difficulty in swallowing. In severe cases, infants can develop breathing problems.
“While these results advance FDA’s understanding of the outbreak, FDA’s investigation is ongoing to determine the source of contamination,” the agency said in a statement.
The FDA and the CDC did not identify the supplier.
“As we have gained unique insights through this investigation, we started to develop a set of actions to evolve our testing protocols and manufacturing process to ensure that an outbreak like this does not happen again,” ByHeart said in a statement.
The FDA sent warning letters to retailers Walmart, Target, Kroger and Albertsons in December for continuing to sell baby formula linked to infant botulism after the products were recalled.
(Inputs from AFP and Reuters)
Published – January 24, 2026 04:54 pm IST
