Formula alert
SMA nutrition, Britain’s biggest baby milk manufacturer, has recalled cans of SMA Gold and SMA White Infant Powder after a bacterium which causes botulism was found in tests on both brands.
A sample of infant formula from the home of the infected baby tested positive for clostridium botulinum type B – the same strain which caused the child’s illness. The Food Standards Agency, which is conducting the inquiry, said that this evidence did not prove conclusively that the formula was the cause. A spokesman for SMA stressed that the tins had been on sale for nearly three years (batches to look out for carry expiry dates of 28 October 2001 and 28 November 2001), so it was unlikely that there would be many cans still in circulation. She added that there had not been any other cases like this in the 80 years SMA have been in existence.
Botulism is a rare but serious food-borne disease that occurs when food is contaminated by the botulin bacteria, usually found in soil. There are three types: infant, food-borne and wound botulism – food-borne is most common in adults. This is the first reported case of infant botulism in the UK for seven years.
In adult botulism, a toxin is produced in the food that has been contaminated with the spore. In infant botulism, the toxin is produced in the child’s digestive system after it has inhaled or swallowed the spores. The most common method of contracting botulism is from poorly-processed foods which are then vacuum-sealed, or sealed with very little air in containers. However, improved food safety processes mean that tinned and packaged foods are a far less frequent source of the bacterium than before.
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