Enfamil recalls 145,000 cans of formula over contamination fears

Enfamil, one of the most popular American baby formula companies, has called for customers to dispose of or return products due to possible "cross-contamination" with a life-threatening germ. 

On Monday, Enfamil's parent company, Reckitt, began recalling two batches, or about 145,000 cans, of their ProSobee Simply Plant-Based Infant Formula sold throughout the US, Guam, and Puerto Rico "due to a possibility of cross-contamination with Cronobacter sakazakii," according to a notice on the federal Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) website.



Cronobacter is a germ that can thrive in dry goods such as powdered formula, and can cause dangerous reactions in infants such as meningitis or sepsis, according to the CDC. ​​

So far, the company says that "no illnesses or adverse events have been reported," as of yet and that the recall is out of caution. 

"After a thorough investigation, we have identified the root cause, which was linked to a material from a third party," Reckitt said in the announcement. "We have taken all appropriate corrective actions, including no longer sourcing this material from the supplier."

"The health and safety of infants is our highest priority. All of our products undergo rigorous and industry leading quality tests and checks to ensure that they meet or exceed all standards set by regulatory bodies, including the World Health Organization and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration," the statement reads. "It is for this reason that we have the highest level of confidence in the safety and quality of every infant formula we make."

The Enfamil recall is impacting two batches of the plant-based instant formula that were manufactured between August and September 2022, reported NPR. The codes consumers should look out for on the bottom of the cans are ZL2HZF and ZL2HZZ.

The Cronobacter germ played a significant role in the ongoing baby formula shortage in the US, causing the recall of cans from three more popular brands of powdered formulas in February 2022 — Similac, Similac Alimentum, and Elecare. The specific batches, manufactured in parent company Abbott Nutrition's factory in Michigan, led to four infants being hospitalized, of which two unfortunately passed away, according to GoodRx.  

In the following months, common consumers began to feel the real impact of the recalls as well as lockdown-era supply chain issues. 

"If the MSM can talk about the toilet paper shortage ever hour, they should be talking about the baby formula shortage at least… we ended finding the Amazon brand online but not everyone is so lucky to be able to feed that. Please share. This is every store," one Twitter user wrote along with a photo showing the near-empty supermarket shelves.

"The baby formula shortage is unreal!!! GET THESE BABIES SOME FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!," another commenter posted, showing a similarly barren set of shelves.