More than 30 children across the UK have displayed symptoms consistent with cereulide toxin poisoning linked to the global infant-formula recall.
According to the government-associated UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the body had received 36 “clinical” notifications as of 3 February – 24 in England, seven in Scotland, three in Wales and one case in Northern Ireland.
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One has also been reported from the so-called Crown Dependencies, the UKHSA said in a rolling update.
Cereulide is connected to the Bacillus cereus bacterium and can trigger vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhoea in infants.
An initial European recall was kicked off in December by Nestlé following the detection of the toxin in some batches of its infant formula. It was then expanded globally in January, when French peers Lactalis and Danone also recalled products, along with a host of smaller baby powder producers.
The source of the cereulide toxin concerned has been linked to a supplier in China of arachidonic acid (ARA) oil.
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By GlobalDataJust Food asked the UKHSA to confirm which brands or manufacturers were associated with the clinical reports and the types of illnesses notified but the agency did not clarify.
However, in a statement, Gauri Godbole, the deputy director for gastrointestinal infections, food safety and one health at UKHSA, said: “We received 36 clinical notifications of children developing symptoms consistent with cereulide toxin after consuming potentially affected batches.
“Given the widespread availability of the products, this is not unexpected.
“Surveillance indicators do not show unusual increases in reports of vomiting in children under the age of one for this time of year but UKHSA will continue to monitor and investigate the public health implications of this recall.”
Contacted for comment, the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) would only say via its director of policy Rebecca Sudworth: “We are working with partners including UKHSA, DHSC, local authorities and food-safety authorities internationally to urgently investigate and respond to a global recall of some infant-formula products.”
Europe’s food-safety regulator has already done that this week, setting a limit for the cereulide toxin above which it might pose a health risk to infants.
Following a “rapid risk assessment” after a request from the European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published its advice on Monday, setting a threshold for cereulide at the same level laid down by France last week of 0.014 micrograms per kg of body mass.
By setting a maximum acute reference dose (ARfD) for the toxin in infants, the EFSA seeks to “help EU risk managers determine when products should be withdrawn from the market as a precautionary public health measure”.
UKHSA said in its statement that it is “closely surveilling multiple healthcare systems and will continue to investigate the incident with other public health and food-standard agencies and international partners in order to reduce the potential public health impact of this contamination”.
