Batches of Danone infant formula and follow-on formula which have been exported from Ireland have been recalled due to the potential presence of cereulide, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has confirmed.
The products were manufactured in Ireland and exported to a number of EU countries, the UK and third countries.
None of the implicated products have been distributed in Ireland, Danone confirmed to the FSAI.
The recall is associated with a contaminant raw ingredient, ARA oil, which was implicated in a recent recall of Nestlé infant formula and follow-on formula from European countries on 6 January.
The oil, which was manufactured in China, was contaminated with cereulide and added as an ingredient to the formulas.
Cereulide is a toxin produced by some strains of the bacterium Bacillus cereus, which can cause food poisoning, the FSAI has said.
French investigators are looking into the cause of death of two infants who allegedly consumed the Nestlé milk.
One was a two-week-old baby who died on 8 January in Bordeaux, southwest France, after drinking milk from the now-recalled batches, a prosecutor in the city said on Thursday.
The second infant, aged just 27 days, died on 23 December in the western city of Angers, the local prosecutor said.
The mother contacted the authorities this week, saying the baby had drunk Nestlé milk from one of the lots removed from the market.
At this time, there was no established causal link between the formula and their deaths, according to French authorities.
Nestlé said it would cooperate with the probes, adding there was "no evidence" at this stage linking its products to the infant deaths.
France's health minister sought to reassure consumers that all suspicious infant formula had been withdrawn, as an investigation began into the deaths of two babies who drank possibly contaminated powdered milk.
French group Lactalis also said it was recalling batches in France and other countries over worries they contained cereulide.
Lactalis did not name the supplier behind the tainted ingredient.
Outside France, countries concerned included Australia, Chile, China, Colombia, the Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Spain, Madagascar, Mexico, Uzbekistan, Peru, Georgia, Greece, Kuwait, the Czech Republic, and Taiwan, a Lactalis spokesperson said.
Additional reporting AFP
