Sparta, NJ, March 18th, 2021
Last month, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) advised consumers not to use three brands of certain powdered infant formulas produced at a plant in Michigan. The FDA announced it was investigating consumer complaints of Cronobacter sakazakii and Salmonella Newport infections associated with the consumption of powdered infant formula produced from the facility.
According to the FDA announcements and recent updates:
In total, this investigation includes four reports of Cronobacter sakazakii infections in infants (three from FDA complaints and one from a CDC case finding) and one complaint of a Salmonella Newport infection in an infant. All five (four Cronobacter infections and one Salmonella Newport infection) illnesses resulted in hospitalization and Cronobacter may have contributed to death in two patients. The FDA has initiated an onsite inspection at the facility. Findings to date include several positive Cronobacter sakazakii results from environmental samples taken by the FDA and adverse inspectional observations by the FDA investigators. A review of the firm’s internal records also indicate environmental contamination with Cronobacter sakazakii and the firm’s destruction of product due to the presence of Cronobacter.
The five illnesses occurred in Minnesota, Ohio, and Texas. The manufacturer has issued a voluntary recall of the powdered formulas.
Working to help consumers and to help companies identify microbial issues to prevent contaminated products from reaching consumers, and the high costs so often associated with these types of recalls, are the scientists at MPL Laboratories. MPL Laboratories operates an FDA and DEA registered testing facility that offers cGMP and ISO 17025 compliant microbial testing services. These services can be essential for testing raw ingredients, production processes and surfaces, and finished products. MPL’s services are available to manufacturers, distributors, retailers, importers, regulatory agencies, and health care providers.
To learn more about microbial testing or other food, supplement, pharmaceutical, cosmetic or consumer product testing services provided by MPL Laboratories, please visit www.MPLLaboratories.com, call (800) 548-1874 or email info@MPLLaboratories.com.
About MPL Laboratories
MPL Laboratories (formerly Marypaul Laboratories) was founded in 1985 as a full-service microbiology laboratory. It is cGMP compliant, FDA and DEA registered, ISO/IEC 17025 accredited by PJLA, and NJDEP certified. MPL’s staff includes M.S. and B.S. degreed microbiologists and other dedicated scientists. The microbiology testing laboratory serves the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, personal care and food industries. MPL aims to provide its clients with high quality, reliable test data in a timely manner. The laboratory is part of the EMSL Analytical, Inc. network of laboratories across the United States and Canada.
