Abbott Laboratories issued a new voluntary recall Friday on certain two-ounce ready-to-feed liquid formulas from their manufacturing plant in Columbus, Ohio over faulty caps and possible spoilage concerns.
The recall includes the brands Similac Pro-Total Comfort, Similac 360 Total Care, Similac 360 Total Care Sensitive, Similac Special Care 24, Similac Stage 1, Similac Water (Sterilized), Similac NeoSure, and Pedialyte Electrolyte Solution. According to Abbott’s recall notice, the sealing on some of the bottle caps coming from the Columbus plant is faulty, resulting in potential spoilage.
If a child were to consume spoiled the spoiled product, it could cause stomach problems such as diarrhea and vomiting, according to a statement put out by Abbott. The company also warned parents not to use the recalled products.
However, the company also pointed out in the same statement that “less than 1%” of the bottles in this recall actually have faulty caps. Abbott assured consumers that the recall does not affect any other powdered or liquid brands and that the amount of formula recalled “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.”
Baby formula sits in a fridge outside Glassmanor Community Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on May 25, 2022. – DC restaurateur Mark Bucher started the program, known as Feed the Fridge, to provide necessities to DC neighborhoods. With the baby formula shortage, Bucher has started purchasing formula from places where there is a higher abundance and less need, and giving them away through the Feed the Fridge program. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds / AFP) (Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Abbott is continuing production of the two-ounce Similac bottles on a different production line at the Columbus facility, according to the statement.
“We take our responsibility to deliver high-quality products very seriously,” said Joe Manning, Abbott’s executive vice president of nutritional products, in the statement. “We internally identified the issue, are addressing it, and will work with our customers to minimize inconvenience and get them the products they need.” (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: FDA Advisor Blasts Agency For Rushing Through New Vaccines For Kids)
This new recall is separate from the one Abbott issued in February, which put the company at the center of the baby formula shortage. At the beginning of this year, the FDA helped Abbott issue a voluntary recall and shut down the company’s production plant in Sturgis, Michigan after a bacterial contamination was found at the plant. While the Sturgis plant was shut down, Abbott ramped up production at the plant in Columbus, Ohio in an attempt to counteract the shortage.
The FDA gave Abbott the green light to reopen their Michigan plant in June. However, the Michigan plant was only in production for about a month before it was forced to shut down due to flooding in July. It reopened again in August.