The Nestle SMA baby products recalled in poisoning fears

Nestle has announced a widespread recall of several key infant nutrition products across Europe, including its SMA, BEBA, and NAN infant and follow-on formulas. The move comes amid concerns over potential contamination with a toxin that could induce nausea and vomiting in infants.

The recall, which began on a smaller scale in December, affects products sold in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, and Britain. The company, known for brands like KitKat and Nescafe, stated late on Monday that no illnesses or symptoms have been confirmed in connection with the recalled batches.

A quality issue was identified in an ingredient from a leading supplier, prompting Nestle to test all arachidonic acid oil and corresponding oil mixes used in its potentially impacted infant nutrition products, a spokesperson confirmed. The potential risk was traced to one of its factories in the Netherlands.

The toxin in question, cereulide, is produced by certain strains of the Bacillus cereus bacterium. Britain’s Food Standards Agency warned that the toxin "is unlikely to be deactivated or destroyed by cooking, using boiling water or when making the infant milk."

It added that if consumed, it "can lead to rapid onset of symptoms," including nausea, vomiting, or abdominal cramps. Norway’s food safety agency, however, stated there was no acute health risk.

Austria's health ministry has described the recall as the largest in Nestle’s history, claiming it affects over 800 products from more than 10 factories. A Nestle spokesperson could not verify these figures.

Nestle has provided a full list of the products and their batch numbers affected by the recall

UK:

SMA Advanced First Infant Milk 800g

SMA Advanced Follow-on Milk 800g

SMA First Infant Milk 800g

SMA First Infant Milk 400g

SMA First Infant Milk 1.2Kg

SMA LITLLE STEPS First Infant Milk 800g

SMA Comfort 800g

SMA First Infant Milk 200ml

SMA First Infant Milk 70ml

SMA Lactose Free

SMA Anti Reflux 800g

ALFAMINO 400g

Northern Ireland:

SMA First Infant Milk 800g

Ireland:

SMA Advanced First Infant Milk 800g

• 51450742F1

SMA Advanced Follow on Milk 800g

• 51240742F2• 51890742F2

SMA Comfort 800g

• 52620742F3

SMA First Infant Milk 200ml

• 53070295M• 52860295M• 52870295M• 53220295M• 53230295M

SMA First Infant Milk 800g

• 51590346AB• 52750346AE

SMA GOLD PREM 2 800g

• 53090742F2

SMA LITTLE STEPS First Infant Milk 800g

• 51540346AD

SMA Alfamino 400g

• 51200017Y3

• 51210017Y1

• 51250017Y1

• 51460017Y1

• 51710017Y1

Nestle, which commands nearly a quarter of the global $92.2 billion infant nutrition market, has published batch numbers for affected products and is working to minimise any potential supply disruption. Infant formula falls under the company's Nutrition and Health Science division, which accounted for 16.6 per cent of its total sales of 91.4 billion Swiss francs in 2024.