Monday, December 26, 2011

Baby formula probe widens beyond Enfamil


U.S. health regulators said on Friday they are looking at several types of baby formula that could be linked to the death of an infant, expanding an investigation beyond Mead Johnson’s market-leading Enfamil.

An official from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the baby, 10-day-old Avery Cornett of Lebanon, Missouri, had consumed a variety of baby formulas before his death but declined to give more details.

Initial results of the probe could be available at the end of next week at the earliest, though the full investigation could take up to a month. A top investment bank warned that Enfamil sales could be hurt even if health regulators find no link between it and the death.

Shares of Mead Johnson Nutrition Co, the largest U.S. formula maker, closed 5 percent lower on Friday, on top of a 10 percent drop on Thursday when news first emerged that Wal-Mart Stores Inc was pulling cans of Enfamil Newborn formula off its shelves following the death of the infant.

The baby had been fed the formula and tested positive for Cronobacter, a bacterium that has sometimes been linked to rare illnesses in newborns. Cronobacter has been found in milk-based powdered baby formula, and is also a relatively common environmental contaminant.

The CDC official said the infant also consumed other types of baby formula before his death, so the link to Enfamil was still unproven

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