Abbott Nutrition issued a voluntary recall for some of their baby formula products on Friday over a risk of spoilage.
Abbott said in a post on its website that it is recalling certain lots of its 2-fluid-ounce bottles of Ready-to-Feed liquid products for infants and children because a small percentage of the bottles have bottle caps that may not have sealed completely at the time of manufacturing.
Abbott said less than 1 percent of the bottles have the bottle cap issue. The bottles were manufactured at Abbott’s facility in Columbus, Ohio.
The post states that the recalled amount is equal to less than one day’s worth of the total number of ounces of infant formula fed to babies in the United States and should not affect the overall national formula supply.
Abbott is voluntarily recalling several of its Similac ready-to-feed liquid baby formula products because of a bottle cap issue.
The Food and Drug Administration announced the recall on Friday, stating that certain lots of Abbott’s liquid baby formula products are being recalled because less than 1% of the bottles “may not have been sealed completely,” which “could result in spoilage for customers”
According to the FDA, the impacted products are: Similac® Pro-Total ComfortTM, Similac® 360 Total Care®, Similac 360 Total Care Sensitive, Similac® Special Care® 24, Similac Stage 1, Similac® NeoSure®, Similac Water (Sterilized) and Pedialyte Electrolyte Solution.
If consumed, individuals may experience “gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting.”
Several lot numbers for the affected products are being recalled, and were manufactured from the company’s Columbus, Ohio facility.
The FDA says that the recall isn’t expected to effect the “overall U.S. infant formula supply,” and said that the recalled products were mainly distributed to hospitals and some doctors’ offices, distributors, and retailers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Abbott’s Executive Vice President for Nutritional Products, Joe Manning, said that the company is addressing the issue and minimizing any inconvenience to customers.
“We take our responsibility to deliver high-quality products very seriously,” Manning said. “We internally identified the issue, are addressing it, and will work with our customers to minimize inconvenience and get them the products they need.”
Abbott declined to provide an exact number of bottles being recalled now, but said in the statement it “equates to less than one day’s worth of the total number of ounces of infant formula fed in the U.S. and is not expected to impact the overall U.S. infant formula supply.”
Even so — that still means this recall could temporarily keep millions of bottles off the shelves, in a market still recouping from the months’ long formula crisis this spring.
Between 2 and 3 million babies in the U.S. rely to some degree on formula every day, experts have told ABC. On average, infants drink between four and six 8-ounce bottles’ worth of formula a day. That includes unfinished or spilt bottles, and naturally fluctuating appetites from day to day. Multiplied out — that means American babies need somewhere between 10 and 12 million bottles per day.
“Parents and caregivers have many additional formula options today thanks to FDA’s efforts and those of many of our government partners,” FDA’s spokesperson said, adding they are “more than doubling the number of formula manufacturers” making formula for U.S. infants.