Nestlé has labelled fresh claims in Europe about the company’s recall of infant formula earlier this year as “inaccurate and misleading”.
Three public broadcasters in Europe said the Swiss giant was slow to inform authorities about the presence of the cereulide toxin in its formula and quietly pulled products before making an official recall.
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Nestlé started to recall products in Europe in December following the detection of cereulide in batches of its infant formula. The company then expanded globally its recall in early January. The same month, French peers Lactalis and Danone also pulled products, along with some smaller producers.
In late January, Nestlé said it first detected “very low levels” of cereulide in formula samples at the end of November – ten days before informing local authorities. The company, which throughout December and January recalled infant formula from more than 60 markets, confirmed it found the toxin in samples at its Dutch factory “at the end of November”.
Nestlé first put out a recall notice in December for specific batches of its Nan stage 1 formula in Europe as a precautionary measure following the detection of the Bacillus cereus bacteria.
A joint report by Radio France, Belgian broadcaster RTBF and Switzerland’s RTS, published this week, said Nestlé did not officially inform markets – including those three countries – until 5 January.
The broadcasters said Nestlé conducted “quiet” recalls in Austria and Germany from 24 December.
Nestlé told Just Food in late January it informed the Dutch authorities and “all potentially impacted countries”, as well as the European Commission, on 10 December to share its analysis. On the same day, the company said it started “a voluntary and precautionary public recall” of all 25 batches that had been produced across 16 countries in Europe.
The group said it had confirmation by Christmas Eve the contamination came from “an oil blend used to produce infant formula in several of our factories”.
Nestlé said it stopped using the blend immediately and told its supplier – which the company has not publicly named – on 29 December once it had laboratory confirmation the oil was contaminated. Trade associations were informed a day later. The wider voluntary recall started on 5 January.
Responding to this week’s media reports, a Nestlé spokesperson said the articles contained “inaccurate and misleading information, which does not reflect the reality of Nestlé’s actions in response to the contamination of infant formula”.
The spokesperson insisted “Nestlé acted with full transparency” and “did not carry out any ‘discreet’ recall”. They added: “Nestlé strongly contests the allegations that the company knowingly marketed contaminated milk and carried out ‘discreet’ recalls without informing consumers or authorities. These claims are factually incorrect.”
The broadcasters’ reports noted recalls by Danone and Lactalis were conducted in late January. The media outlets said Nestlé had told all manufacturers about the presence of the toxin in an oil used in formula sold under a number of brands.
“On December 30, we alerted the entire sector via trade associations,” the Nestlé spokesperson said. “From January 2 onwards, Nestlé notified authorities country by country. Public recalls were implemented as of January 5, in close coordination with authorities and in compliance with each country’s regulations.”
In a statement, a Danone spokesperson told Just Food: “The health and safety of babies is and always has been our number one priority. We fully cooperated with the authorities and as their guidance evolved, we responded with precautionary measures, including recalls and additional quality checks on the products.
“We understand the concern this caused for parents and caregivers and remain fully committed to transparency and supporting families and health authorities.”
Just Food has asked Lactalis for comment.
