Lactalis: everything you need to know about milk contaminated with salmonella

At the beginning of this year the alarm went off in France: 18 children, who had consumed children's products developed by Lactalis(also sold in Spain, among which are infant formulas for infants), had to be hospitalized after suffering salmonellosis.

Although this problem was already known since the beginning of December, the truth is that it was not until a few days ago that an administrative inspection carried out in the French country discovered that those children's products contaminated with salmonella they continued selling in supermarkets, pharmacies and supermarkets.

That is to say, it was detected that some of the products that had to be withdrawn were still for sale, even though, according to the company, it gave "instructions" to all the points of sale in order to remove and block the affected lots.

Due to this, Bruno Le Maire, the French Economy Minister himself, accused Lactalis of "being an untrustworthy company", so that his "unacceptable dysfunctionality" would be subject to important sanctions.

In this regard, we must remember that already in 2015 the National Securities Market Commission of Spain promoted a fine of 11.5 million euros to the same company, considering that it was carrying out anti-competitive practices.

On the other hand, all children's products affected with this contamination were developed in the factory that Lactalis has in Craon (Loire), which was temporarily closed on December 8, 2017, and that also In 2005, he had another contamination problem with Salmonella(when it belonged to another company).

At that time, products manufactured in this factory had to be removed from the market due to contamination with the same bacteria, which affected a total of 16 children at the time. In fact, as the Pasteur Institute reports, the two salmonella "are extremely similar."

What are the brands of children's products affected?

As we have known so far, in France the brands of contaminated products that have already been withdrawn from the market are the following:

  • Cereals:Picot, Big Bag, Céreline, PBB and Milumel.
  • Infant milks in powder:Babycare, FBB, Amilk and Célia.
  • Milk:Nophenyl.

How did Salmonella contamination occur?

According to the version currently handled by the French investigation, it seems that some works carried out in mid-February of last year would have caused the dispersion of the bacteria. In fact, traces of salmonella were already detected in August (on some tiles) and in November (in cleaning material), all before the health alert.

While the dairy farmers and suppliers of the factory are free of suspicion, workers will be investigated to determine if any is benign carrier of the bacterium and could introduce it in the production chain inadvertently. For it your stool will be examined.

And what happens in Spain?

Yesterday we knew that Lactalis Nutrition Iberia started in December to remove 550,000 children's products from milk powder and nutritional preparations for babies in Spain, manufactured in the Craon factory.

They have confirmed that the dairy products belonging to the popular brand Puleva They are not affected, mainly because they are products made with "Spanish milk".

However, the truth is that Bilbao has confirmed the existence of a first case of a baby of just 5 months infected with salmonella milk Lactalis, which has been hospitalized twice with diarrhea and high fevers, and He took milk powder from the brand Damira.

This measure affects lots of a total of 37 references of the following brands: Baby Puleva, Sanutri and Damira. In addition, it affects a nutrition module developed with maltodextrin powder already several products developed for metabolopathies.

If you have any questions or concerns, either because your child is consuming this type of Lactalis brand product or simply want more information, the brand has opened the phone 900 102 336 to provide more information to consumers.

What is salmonellosis?

Salmonellosis is a food poisoning caused by salmonella, a group of bacteria whose poisoning occurs precisely as a result of consuming food or food products originally contaminated with it.

Among the symptoms that can occur are mainly those of gastrointestinal and digestive nature, such as: abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, fever and headache.

These symptoms usually last between 4 to 7 days approximately, and it can be a serious illness in young children (which have also been the main affected by this contamination), especially if the bacteria enters the bloodstream.

- Information constantly updated - This article is published for informational purposes only. You can not and should not replace the consultation with a Pediatrician. We advise you to consult your trusted pediatrician. ThemesSupplementary feeding

Lactalis milk powder products recalled due to risk of salmonella contamination (February 2024)