A shared ingredient supplier has been pinpointed as the origin of contamination behind two separate baby formula recalls this month.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) confirmed that its ongoing investigations had identified the contamination, which led to both the Nestle SMA and Danone Aptamil recalls, as stemming from this single third-party provider.
Jodie Wild, head of incidents at the FSA, said: “Ongoing investigations have identified that the contamination originated from a shared third-party ingredient supplier.
“As a result of these investigations, Danone is recalling one batch of Aptamil product due to the presence of cereulide.
“If further recalls are needed, we will communicate these immediately.
“If you have any of the affected products, stop using them as soon as possible and switch to an alternative formula.
“If the formula was prescribed by a health professional, consult a pharmacist or other medical professional before changing.
“If you have fed it to your baby and are concerned, contact your GP or NHS 111 for advice.
“We encourage parents to sign up to our food alerts at food.gov.uk to stay up to date.”
The FSA is working urgently with manufacturers to trace all products that may have used ingredients from this supplier, and ensure all affected products are removed from sale.
It is also working with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), local authorities and industry on sampling where appropriate, and will updating when the results are ready.
On January 23, food giant Danone recalled a batch of its Aptamil baby formula product over concerns it could contain the cereulide toxin, which can cause vomiting and stomach cramps.
The FSA said only one batch sold in the UK was affected, but additional batches in other countries were also affected.
The agency said the cereulide toxin, which can cause nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps if consumed, had been found in the batch distributed in the UK.
The alert related to batch 31-10-2026 of Aptamil First Infant Formula 800g, with a best-before date of October 31 2026.
On January 6, Nestle recalled some of its baby formula products over concerns they could also contain cereulide.
The problem was caused by an ingredient provided by a leading supplier, it added.
Nestle products affected by the recall included SMA Advanced First Infant Milk, SMA Advanced Follow-On Milk, SMA Anti Reflux, SMA Alfamino, SMA First Infant Milk, SMA Little Steps First Infant Milk, SMA Comfort and SMA Lactose Free.
More detail about which batches have been recalled can be found on food.gov.uk or on the Nestle website.
