The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has today (Monday, January 5) advised that Nestle is voluntarily recalling specific batches of its SMA infant formula and follow-on formula due to the potential presence of cereulide.

Cereulide is a toxin produced by some strains of the bacterium bacillus cereus, which can cause food poisoning.

This recall is a precautionary measure being taken in the interest of public health, and there have been no reported cases of illness to date.

The FSAI is advising parents, guardians and caregivers who may have the recalled products at home not to feed them to their infant or young child.

Recall notices will be displayed at point-of-sale. Retailers are requested to remove the implicated batches from sale and display recall notices at point-of-sale. 

Wholesalers/distributors are requested to contact their affected customers and recall the implicated batches and provide a point-of-sale recall notice to their retailer customers. 

Batch codes can be found on the base of the tin or box for powdered formulas, or the base of the outer box and on the side/top of the container for ready-to-feed formulas.

The FSAI advises that cereulide toxin may be pre-formed in a food and is extremely heat resistant. Consumption of foods containing cereulide toxin can lead to nausea and severe vomiting.

Symptoms can appear within five hours. The duration of illness is usually six to 24 hours.

If no symptoms are displayed, nothing further needs to be done. If a parent, guardian or caregiver is concerned about the health of their infant or young child, they are advised to contact a healthcare professional.    

Nestle is advising its customers who have purchased any of these batches to contact:  

Via its online form, sharing a photo of the product and the batch code;
By calling its careline on 1800 931 832 (Ireland) or 0800 0 81 81 80 (UK).