Press Release 29.01.2026

Infant formula recalls: foodwatch files criminal complaint and supports families of sick babies

  • politics and law
  • Transparency and food safety

+++ foodwatch invites journalists to an online Q&A on the case, today (Thursday) at 2:30 pm – please sign up here +++ 


In the case of the large-scale recall of powdered infant formula, foodwatch filed a criminal complaint and a complaint on behalf of families whose babies fell ill. The European consumer organization criticises companies and authorities for warning the public too late. According to foodwatch investigations, Nestlé was informed of the contamination in early December 2025, yet it took weeks before large-scale public recalls were issued. Several manufacturers have recalled baby products in Europe and worldwide, including Nestlé, Danone, Lactalis, Vitagermine, La marque en moins, Granarolo and Hochdorf. The recalled products are suspected of contamination with the toxin cereulide. They were sold internationally and are intended for infants, including babies under six months and premature infants. The complaint, issued in Paris today, calls for a criminal investigation into possible offences by manufacturers and failures of oversight by the authorities. Eight families have already joined the complaint, and more families are preparing to do so. 

“There is absolutely no acceptable excuse for these late recalls; that is why foodwatch is filing a complaint today alongside the parents. Infant formula manufacturers are legally required to guarantee the safety of the products they place on the market. The companies we are targeting have shown alarming negligence. To minimize the issue now and to deny the link between consumption of the recalled formulas and the severe symptoms endured by many infants is simply indecent. Learning that the formula was sold for months by Nestlé and Danone – and even for a year in the case of Lactalis – is outrageous,” says Ingrid Kragl, Director of Information and Investigations at foodwatch.
    
Parents report sick and hospitalized babies

foodwatch has reviewed several family cases that show similar patterns. Babies developed severe symptoms that did not resolve with standard treatment: repeated vomiting, persistent diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain. Some infants were hospitalized in late 2025, before the mass recalls. In at least one case, Bacillus cereus was detected in medical analyses. Parents report weeks of fear and distress.

foodwatch urges parents not to destroy product packaging or remaining formula. Some retailers and brands have told consumers to discard and destroy boxes. Nestlé’s Guigoz brand has even asked parents to send boxes back. This should not be done, as the powder may be needed as evidence and for testing. 

foodwatch notes that authorities in Belgium, Luxemburg and Brazil have publicly communicated an established link between the consumption of Nestlé formula and illness in several babies.

foodwatch criminal complaint: companies and authorities failed to warn public in time

According to information obtained by foodwatch, Nestlé was informed by its Chinese supplier of the contamination in December 2025. The investigation must determine when other manufacturers were informed. foodwatch also reports “silent withdrawals” in some countries, including Austria, without proactive consumer communication.

In France, recalled batches appear to have been sold for many months. The delayed recalls have made it harder for families to keep packaging and to quickly test infants and products. Early testing is critical once symptoms occur and a link to recalled products is suspected. Testing may also be carried out later using remaining powder.

foodwatch’s complaint targets serious offenses, including endangering infants, aggravated deception, placing harmful products on the market, failure to execute recalls, and failures to inform authorities and consumers, including in third-country exports.

François Lafforgue, lawyer for foodwatch and the parents, said: “The liability of the companies targeted by the complaint filed by foodwatch and the parents seems to us to be established, but the investigation will confirm it. These manufacturers could not have been unaware of the food safety obligations incumbent on them. We are asking for the greatest firmness in this case, which concerns the health of infants.”

The ingredient at the center of the case is ARA (arachidonic acid, an omega-6). Even if it was supplied by a company in China, manufacturers remain fully responsible for product safety and for complying with EU rules on traceability and timely communication to authorities and consumers. 

foodwatch has previously filed complaints in major food safety cases, including infant formula contaminated with salmonella (Lactalis, 2018) and frozen pizzas contaminated with E. coli (Buitoni/Nestlé, 2022), as well as the bottled water scandal involving Nestlé (2024). foodwatch also supports families in the Kinder/Ferrero salmonella case (2022).

+++ foodwatch invites journalists to an online Q&A on the case, today (Thursday) at 2:30 pm – please sign up here +++ 


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