Three Taiwanese importers of French company Lactalis’ baby milk products yesterday said that their products are untainted and have passed safety inspections.
Lactalis on Sunday announced an international recall of its products due to salmonella contamination, sparking fears in Taiwan that the company’s products sold in the nation might also be tainted.
Orient EuroPharma Co (OEP, 友華生技), one of the importers, in a statement said that after learning of the news in France, it launched an investigation in accordance with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) guidelines and a report from Lactalis.
The Taiwanese firm said that its imported “Babycare HA3 hydrolyzed protein formula” is not contaminated.
However, the company has pulled 1,500 tins of the product from stores as a precaution, it said.
The Babycare formula is sold in 900g tins and is suitable for children between the ages of one and three, according to Orient EuroPharma’s Web site.
The company said it is not sure how many tins of Babycare HA3 hydrolyzed protein formula have been sold, adding that all returned tins would be refunded in full.
Orient EuroPharma said that its other baby formula products are not conected to Lactalis’ contaminated formula and adhere to the strictest safety standards.
Standard Foods Corp (佳格食品) and Multipower Enterprise Corp (端強實業) also import baby formula made by Lactalis.
Standard Foods said that its baby formula, sold under the name “Quaker ProCare,” has passed safety inspections, but added that it still pulled the product from shelves as a precaution.
Multipower said that five of its baby formula products made by Lactalis and sold in Taiwan under the name neoAngela Plus are not contaminated.
Standard Foods and Multipower said they would unconditionally refund any products returned by consumers.
FDA specialist Chen Wei-chih (鄭維智) said the agency is tracing Lactalis products sold in Taiwan.
The order to recall Lactalis’ salmonella contaminated baby milk was issued by the French health authorities after there were 26 cases of children falling ill in France.
Up to 7,000 tonnes of Lactalis baby formula products might have been contaminated, but the company was unable to confirm how much remains on sale, has been consumed or is in stock, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday.
Lactalis is one of the world’s biggest producers of dairy products, the news agency said.
Consuming products contaminated with salmonella can cause severe diarrhea, stomach cramps and even vomiting, it said.
Salmonella symptoms are particularly dangerous for young babies and older people due to the risk of dehydration, Agence France-Presse added.
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