At least four infant formula manufacturers put contaminated baby milk powder on the market.
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IBFAN – International Baby Food Action Network
Formula companies in crisis – Nestlé, Danone, Lactalis and Hochdorf
Powdered formula is NOT sterile and requires strict manufacturing controls, transparent testing, rapid warning and support for families. The number of contamination outbreaks in recent years highlights systemic failures in formula production, regulatory surveillance, recall systems and crisis communication – that lead not only to interrupted supplies, but to large numbers of infants vulnerable to contamination. This is especially problematic in the Global South and settings where the risks are greater , diagnosis is restricted and access to treatment is reduced. The global online promotion and sale through social media exacerbates these problems, especially when products not registered or regulated at national level. The idealising messages encourage unquestioning trust in the company.
Press clippings on qualit and safety crises involving infant formula
Recall of baby food challenges a sector where safety comes at a premium - Financial Times (January 29, 2026)
Nestlé and Danone hit by backlash over contaminated baby formula.
Toxin traced to Wuhan laboratory has led to product recall and growing crisis for consumer groups.
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(Full article available to Financial Times subscribers only)
Toxin detected in recalled baby formula - SkyNews (January 30, 2026)
A toxin that causes vomiting and diarrhoea has been detected in recalled Nestle baby formula.
Media reports from Belgium
Up to 75 times more toxin in contaminated baby milk than was first assumed
Tot 75 keer meer gifstof in vervuilde babymelk dan eerst werd aangenomen
- De Standaars (January 29, 2026)
Tot 75 keer meer gifstof in vervuilde babymelk dan eerst werd aangenomen
- De Standaars (January 29, 2026)
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(Full article available to subscribers only)
Baby milk powder turns out to have been contaminated for much longer than previously thought.
Melkpoeder voor baby’s blijkt al veel langer dan gedacht vervuild
- De Standaars (January 26, 2026)
Melkpoeder voor baby’s blijkt al veel langer dan gedacht vervuild
- De Standaars (January 26, 2026)
At least four infant formula manufacturers put contaminated baby milk powder on the market. Authorities report the first sick infants. How could a problem with an optional ingredient remain under the radar for so many months?
The whole baby food sector is in turmoil. The cause is a contaminated ingredient in powdered milk: arachidonic acid oil (ARA). Cereulide has been found in that fatty acid — a heat-resistant toxic substance that can make babies very ill. Many brands and factories only recently discovered that they use ARA and that it is not kosher. Swiss food giant Nestlé recalled infant milk in Belgium only on 5 January, although it reported the finding to the Netherlands on 9 December. Meanwhile, Nestlé is withdrawing milk from sixty markets. France’s Lactalis and Switzerland’s Hochdorf, which makes infant formula based on goats’ milk, followed suit (…)
