French dairy giant Lactalis announced a massive recall of infant formula in several countries, including France, China, Australia, and Mexico, on Wednesday due to the potential presence of cereulide. According to Radio France, French authorities were informed of the toxin's presence at least five days before the product withdrawal. France, China, Australia, Mexico... More than a dozen countries and "millions of infants worldwide" are affected. And while Lactalis announced a large-scale recall of infant formula in several countries, just weeks after Nestlé, Radio France's investigative unit asserted on Wednesday, January 21, that French authorities—who established that the common denominator between these two campaigns was a Chinese supplier—had been aware of the presence of the toxin in Lactalis products for at least five days.

"The Directorate General for Food was aware, as early as Friday, January 16, of the presence of the incriminated toxin in Lactalis products. 'Lactalis was indeed identified as having received batches potentially contaminated by the cereulide toxin, but the first analyses on the finished products had not revealed levels considered problematic,' explains the Directorate General for Food, in charge of food safety within the Ministry of Agriculture," we can read in the investigation published on france info.

The recalls of Lactalis and Nestlé are motivated by the possible presence of cereulide, a substance of bacterial origin that can cause diarrhea and vomiting, in infant milks which are very controlled since they are used with infants, either as a supplement or as an alternative food to breast milk.

In France, health authorities announced on Tuesday investigations following the death of a baby who consumed infant milk produced by Nestlé and affected by a large recall, although it was not possible at this stage to establish a direct link.

Cereulide is a toxic component produced under certain conditions by a family of bacteria when they are heated to a temperature insufficient to eliminate them, and then cooled.

"The withdrawals and recalls currently being organized by Nestlé and Lactalis are indeed due to a raw material supplied by the same producer in China," the Ministry of Agriculture told AFP.

According to the Foodwatch association, this is one of the few suppliers in the world of arachidonic acid (ARA), a synthetic substance that is highly regulated in Europe and is used in the composition of some infant milks because it is a source of omega-6.

The NGO announced on Wednesday that it would file a complaint against persons unknown to "shed light" on these recalls, stating that "millions of infants worldwide were affected".

Recalls in 17 countries for Lactalis, around sixty for Nestlé

The infant formula sector has been shaken in recent years by several health alerts, whether proven or not.

Lactalis has been under investigation since 2023, notably for "aggravated deception" and "involuntary injuries", due to its handling of the infant milk crisis of 2017-2018, when several dozen infants in France were affected by salmonella.

These alerts have significant repercussions on sales figures and consumer confidence, as evidenced by the recent declines in the share price of Nestlé, one of the industry leaders, following successive recall announcements. Lactalis is not publicly traded.

On Wednesday, it was Danone, another key player in infant formula worldwide, that saw its biggest drop in trading since its initial public offering in 1989.

Singapore's food agency announced on January 17th a recall of Dumex infant formula, a baby nutrition brand acquired by Danone in 2022. According to the company, only "a few pallets" of Dumex Stage 1 formula were held at the request of Singaporean authorities, meaning the affected batches were not yet in stores.

These blockages come on top of the more massive recalls by Lactalis, in 17 countries, and Nestlé, in about sixty countries.

In mainland France, for Lactalis, it is the Picot brand, sold in pharmacies and supermarkets, that is affected. This recall follows an alert from the Alliance 7 association, which brings together trade unions representing grocery and specialized nutrition professionals, Lactalis explained to AFP.

Sixteen other countries are involved: Australia, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo-Brazzaville, Ecuador, Spain, Madagascar, Mexico, Uzbekistan, Peru, Georgia, Greece, Kuwait, Czech Republic and Taiwan.

"A few batches" produced in France

For all these countries, it involves "a few batches" produced in France, a spokesperson told AFP, without specifying them, as they do not have the same size depending on the orders.

Lactalis declined to disclose the name of its arachidonic acid supplier, stating that it was distributed by a partner European wholesaler.

"At this stage, no complaints or reports related to the consumption of these products have been received by the French authorities," the dairy giant added.

In early January, several of Nestlé's subsidiaries in Europe, particularly in Germany, Italy, Sweden and France, announced a voluntary recall of certain batches of products, marketed under different names depending on the country.

Nestlé products had been recalled as early as mid-December.

These procedures now concern some sixty countries, including France, and the head of Nestlé, Philipp Navratil, apologized in mid-January as the group was accused by NGOs of having been slow to take action.