The first 20 cases of infant sickness were already reported in France in early December. This had prompted the recall of 12 Lactalis products suspected to be contaminated with Salmonella Agona (Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Agona). Later that week, some more cases of infant sickness were reported. The consumed products included some which were not on the original recall list.
Today, Bruno Le Maire, the French Minister of Economy and Finances (Ministre de l’Economie et des Finances) extended the recall of products produced at the Craon site of Lactalis at international level. The recall includes products exported to the United Kingdom, Greece, Romania, Serbia, Georgia, China, Taiwan, Iraq, Morocco, Sudan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Colombia, Peru, and Haiti.
The total recall volume is, according to El Mundo, 7000 tons and 600 lots. Brands affected are predominantly Milumel and Picot. The complete list of products recalled as of today is available here. The French Pediatric Society SFP (Société Française de Pédiatrie) is advising alternatives to the affected Lactalis products.
A press spokesperson at Lactalis commented that the contamination was most likely due to a contamination of a spray tower in Craon between May 1 to May 6, 2017. He said that the production had been halted to perform additional cleaning and disinfection steps as a preventive measure.
