Walmart Pulls Enfamil From Shelves After Missouri Infant Dies
Wal-Mart pulled Enfamil powdered baby formula from the shelves of more than 3,000 of its stores nationwide after a Missouri infant boy who was fed the formula died from a rare foodborne pathogen, according to the Associated Press.
The federal government has not ordered a recall of the 12.5-ounce cans of Enfamil Newborn powder with the lot number ZP1K7G. The manufacturer of the formula, Mead Johnson Nutrition based in Glenview, Ill., said its records show that the product in question came form a lot that tested negative for the bacterium before it was shipped, according to the AP.
Wal-Mart officials said the company decided to pull the formula form its stores while state and federal health officials investigate “out of an abundance of caution” Wal-Mart spokeswoman Dianna Gee said Wednesday.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (MDHSS) sent samples of the formula that had been given to 10-day-old Avery Cornett to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for testing, said Gena Terlizzi, an MDHSS spokeswoman.
“At this point it has not been determined whether the illness is linked to the formula or an outside source,” she said in a statement.
Last week, Avery was taken to St. John’s Hospital-Lebanon after appearing lethargic and displaying what his family said were signs of a stomachache, the Lebanon Daily Record reported
He was later moved to St. John’s Hospital-Springfield where tests showed that he had contracted a rare bacterial infection, Cronobacter sakazakii, a foodborne pathogen, the newspaper reported. Avery died Sunday after being removed from life support.
Avery had been fed Enfamil Newborn powder that was purchased from a Walmart store in Lebanon. A spokesman for Mead Johnson Nutrition, Christopher Perille, said Enfamil Newborn powder is sold at a variety of retailers, but he didn’t have information about whether other companies received units from the lot now being investigated, according to the story.
Perille said all Mead Johnson infant formula products are put through rigorous testing as they are produced, packaged and sealed and that every batch is tested for Cronobacter. Public health officials seeking the source of Avery’s infection will also look at environmental factors, such as the water used in preparing the powdered formula, and at anything else the baby might have ingested, Perille said.
In a recent study from University College Dublin, in Dublin, Ireland, researchers described Cronobacter strains as “opportunistic pathogens [that] are linked with life-threatening infections in neonates. Clinical symptoms of Cronobacter infection include necrotizing enterocolitis, bacteremia, and meningitis, with case fatality rates of 50-80% being reported. Contaminated powdered infant formula has been epidemiologically linked with infections.”
The attorneys at PrtitzkerOlsen P.A., a national leader in foodborne illness law, can answer legal questions about an illness or death associated with this recall. Contact them for a free consultation.
