U.S. health officials warned parents on Thursday not to use three popular powdered infant formulas manufactured at an Abbott plant in Michigan that investigators recently linked to bacterial contamination.
The Food and Drug Administration said it is investigating four reports of infants who were hospitalized after consuming the formula, including one who died. The agency said one of the cases involved salmonella and three involved Cronobacter sakazakiim, a rare but dangerous germ that can cause blood infections and other serious complications.
FDA staff are now inspecting Abbott’s plant in Sturgis, Michigan, where environmental samples tested positive for the Cronobacter bacteria. Inspectors have also uncovered potential manufacturing problems, and past records showing the destruction of formula due to bacterial contamination. The FDA said it is working with federal and local authorities in Minnesota, Ohio and Texas— the states where the infant infections were reported.