France has reduced the permitted safety level for the cereulide toxin in infant formula following a series of international product recalls.
Cereulide is a toxin connected to the Bacillus cereus bacterium and can trigger vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhoea in infants.
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
France’s move to lower the threshold for cereulide in infant formula sold in the country comes in the wake of international recalls by companies including Nestlé, Danone and Lactalis.
The toxin has been linked to contaminated arachidonic acid oil sourced from China.
In a statement on Friday (30 January), France’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty said the revised threshold will be set at 0.014 micrograms of cereulide per kg of body mass, down from 0.03 micrograms per kg currently.
The ministry said the decision follows work conducted at the European level last week. Europe’s food-safety regulator is preparing to define EU-wide benchmarks for cereulide after a request from the bloc.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataThe European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said it will look to establish an “acute reference dose for cereulide in infants”, as instructed by the European Commission.
At the same time, the EFSA has been asked to provide data on “typical and higher-end consumption levels” of infant formula as it coordinates a response to the recalls with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), and the EC. EFSA is set to publish its response today.
“The ministry’s services immediately contacted all manufacturers of infant formula present on the national territory to ask them to comply without delay with this new threshold,” France’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty said.
The lower French threshold is expected to result in additional withdrawals and recalls in the near term, it added.
Nestlé initiated its recall in Europe in December after the detection of the Bacillus cereus bacteria in some of its infant-formula products.
It was then expanded worldwide early in January after Nestlé identified the presence of the cereulide toxin in an ingredient from an external supplier – arachidonic acid (ARA) oil, which was later linked to a source in China.
On Thursday, Nestlé said it had detected “very low levels” of the toxin cereulide in formula samples at the end of November – ten days before informing local authorities.
French peers Lactalis and Danone recalled products last month, along with a host of smaller baby formula producers.
European consumer advocacy group Foodwatch has filed a legal complaint in Paris alongside eight families against a group of infant-formula manufacturers.
Meanwhile, French prosecutors in Angers and Bordeaux have launched investigations after receiving reports that two infants had died from the consumption of the Nestlé formulas in question.
“To our knowledge, based on information we have to date, no illnesses have been confirmed in connection with the products involved in the recall,” a Nestlé spokesperson said at the time.
Privately owned Lactalis has issued a recall for certain batches of its Picot infant formula encompassing 18 countries.
Just over a week ago, Danone issued a European recall of infant-formula made at a site in Ireland after initially withdrawing product in Singapore at the request of the local food-safety regulator.
