Abbott Nutrition is recalling certain lots of its ready-to-feed liquid baby formula products, including several under its Similac brand, due to faulty bottle caps that may cause spoilage, the company said Friday.
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.
Consumers can find the specific lot numbers of the recalled products at Similacrecall.com.
“These products are being recalled because a small percentage of bottles (less than 1%) in the recalled lots have bottle caps that may not have sealed completely, which could result in spoilage,” Abbott said in its announcement.
“This recall 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,” said the company.
“If spoiled product is consumed, gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting may occur,” the company added.
The affected products were manufactured at the company’s Columbus, Ohio, facility and “distributed primarily to hospitals, doctor’s offices, distributors, and some retailers in the US, including Puerto Rico,” with limited supplies sent to Canada and select countries in Central and South America, according to the announcement.
The recall does not include any other powder or liquid formula brands produced at Abbott’s Columbus facility or elsewhere.
Abbott is continuing production of Similac 2 fluid ounce/59-milliliter Ready-to-Feed liquid formula products for “hospitals and healthcare providers’ offices on a different production line.”
Abbott’s executive vice president for nutritional products, Joe Manning, said that the company is addressing the issue and working to minimize customer inconvenience.
“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.”
The Friday announcement follows Abbott’s massive infant formula recall in February that led to a nationwide shortage.
Abbott recalled baby formula products in February due to strains of a dangerous bacteria being potentially linked to its manufacturing plant in Sturgis, Michigan. The FDA further warned against using the products while investigating the deaths of up to nine infants possibly connected to ingesting bacteria in the formula.
