The General Administration of Customs reminds: Immediately stop consuming Abbott's related infant products! This is the culprit

Image from: freepik.com

Recently, the General Administration of Customs issued an announcement, reminding consumers to "not purchase through any channels for the time being" and "immediately stop consuming" related infant products produced by Abbott Laboratories of the United States.

Reminder from the General Administration of Customs. Image from: Weibo

The announcement showed that on February 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it was investigating complaints of four infants being infected with Cronobacter and Salmonella. They all consumed three types of milk powder produced by Abbott at a factory in Michigan. One of them may have died from infection with Cronobacter.

Image from: FDA official website

The FDA said the four babies were reported to have consumed formula produced at Abbott's Sturgis, Michigan, plant under the Similac, Alimentum and EleCare brands.

Many parents were almost scared to death when they saw this news. After all, there are so many Abbott-related infant products, and they are also products that every household buys frequently. Our family has bought quite a few of them, too.

What is Ronobacter? How harmful is it? What should we do? Today, let’s talk about this harmful bacteria.

1

What is Cronobacter?

Cronobacter is also known as Cronobacter sakazakii and Enterobacter sakazakii. It is widely present in our natural environment, such as water, soil, plant roots and stems, animal intestines, and even processed foods.

Gram staining of Enterobacter sakazakii under a microscope. Image source: China Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Enterobacter sakazakii has a very strong vitality. It is resistant to cold, heat, dryness, acid and alkali, osmotic pressure, and ultraviolet rays. It also has relatively strong resistance to some disinfectants and sterilizers.

Moreover, if it is in unfavorable conditions, it will secrete adhesive polysaccharides to protect itself, so once it contaminates food, it is difficult to remove completely.

Image from: freepik.com

2

How does it get into milk powder?

Infant formula is the main channel for infants to be infected with Enterobacter sakazakii.

Milk powder is not a commercially sterile product, and formula milk processing is susceptible to contamination by Enterobacter sakazakii, especially during the drying and canning stages.

Since Cronobacter sakazakii has a stronger resistance to high osmotic pressure than Escherichia coli, it can survive in dry milk powder for a long time. Moreover, Cronobacter sakazakii is highly heat-resistant, and most of them can still survive when milk powder is mixed with water below 70°C. Therefore, even if there is only a very small amount of Cronobacter sakazakii contamination in milk powder, it may multiply rapidly and in large quantities during the mixing and storage process, thus causing infection in infants.

my country's national standards clearly stipulate that Enterobacter sakazakii must not be detected in dairy products.

Image from: freepik.com

3

What are the hazards?

Enterobacter sakazakii mainly infects infants and young children, especially premature infants, infants with low birth weight and low immunity, causing diseases such as sepsis, meningitis, and necrotizing enterocolitis.

// A piece of scientific gossip

Scientists named this bacterium Cronosaccharomyces sakazakii, after the Greek god who ate his own children, Cronus. Cronus was the second-generation king of the gods in Greek mythology. He was instigated by his mother to castrate his father Uranus with a sickle and overthrow his brutal rule, leading the golden age of Greek mythology. However, his father predicted that he would also be overthrown by his own children, so he swallowed his children as soon as they were born, with only Zeus being spared. When Zeus became an adult, he designed a plan to make him spit out his brothers and sisters, and led his brothers to overthrow the Titan gods headed by Cronus.

Meningitis caused by Enterobacter sakazakii can lead to complications such as cerebral infarction, brain abscess and ventricular encephalitis. Patients often have severe neurological sequelae, with a mortality rate of 40-80%. Foreign literature reports that about 4% of cases of meningoencephalitis in infants are caused by Enterobacter sakazakii. In addition, the bacteria can also cause infection in the elderly or immunocompromised people.

4

What should mom and dad do?

First of all, I still want to say that everyone should not panic too much.

In fact, the U.S. FDA’s food recall system updates various food safety recall information almost every day. This information is more of a warning reminder and does not mean that the food is definitely unsafe or poses great harm.

There are many more recent food recalls. Image from: FDA official website

Moreover, the risk of infection with Cronobacter sakazakii is highest for newborns (28 days old or younger) and infants under 2 months old, especially premature infants, infants weighing less than 2.5 kg, and infants with weak immunity. The risk of infection is very low for babies over 2 months old, especially those over 6 months old. From the first report in 1958 to 2020, only 120 cases of Cronobacter sakazakii infection have been reported worldwide.

Of course, we should also pay more attention to some daily food safety operations:

Image from: freepik.com

①If conditions permit, it is best to breastfeed your baby.

Breast milk is the best, this goes without saying. If conditions permit, try to breastfeed.

Dads should provide more help and support, such as doing more housework, helping to take care of the baby, and cooking more delicious food, so that mothers can relax and breastfeed better.

②Try to buy milk powder through regular channels, or you can choose liquid formula milk.

Regular and qualified powdered formula milk is safe. There are also liquid formula milk on the market now, which is very convenient to carry out and saves the trouble of rinsing when feeding your baby. You can try it.

③If you are worried that there is something wrong with the milk powder, you can discard it.

If you suspect there is something wrong with the milk (such as leakage, or it has been stored for too long) or you are just worried, it is better to discard it immediately.

Image from: freepik.com

④When preparing milk powder, be sure to pay attention to cleanliness and hygiene.

Wash your hands carefully before mixing the milk powder. The cup should be sterilized with hot water, and the operating surface should also be clean enough. Spoons, nipples, pacifiers, bottles, etc. should also be cleaned and sterilized daily.

Image from: freepik.com

5

When making milk powder, should we choose 40℃ or 70℃?

Studies have shown that if you use water at or above 70°C to mix milk powder, the risk can be significantly reduced, because hot water at this temperature can kill any Enterobacter sakazakii in the milk powder. When the water temperature is below 70°C, the risk of infection will increase significantly.

Therefore, for safety reasons, some authoritative health organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UK National Health Service (NHS) recommend using water at no less than 70°C to mix milk powder, then quickly cooling it down with running water or in cold water, and then giving it to the baby when it is no longer hot. It is best to finish it within 2 hours, and if it is not finished, it is best to throw it away.

However, some people think that 70℃ water is too hot to mix milk powder, and it needs to be cooled down, which is cumbersome. Using 40℃ water to mix milk powder can better retain the nutrients in the milk powder, and you don't need to wait too long before giving it to your baby after mixing it, and you don't need to let it cool down, which is much more convenient. So, can you use 40℃ water to mix milk powder?

As mentioned above, the risk of infection with Enterobacter sakazakii is highest for newborns (28 days old or younger) and infants under 2 months old, especially premature infants, infants weighing less than 2.5 kg, and infants with weak immunity. The risk of infection is very low for infants over 2 months old, especially over 6 months old. Therefore, if your baby is already 2 months old, it is OK to use 40℃ water to mix milk powder.

References

Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Understanding Enterobacter sakazakii

https://www.chinacdc.cn/zxdt/201204/t20120427_60397.html

Fuzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Foodborne Pathogens: Enterobacter sakazakii

https://cdc.fuzhou.gov.cn/zz/jkjy/spaqfxjc/202012/t20201231_3927524.htm

GB 10765-2021 National Food Safety Standard Infant Formula

Centre for Food Safety, Hong Kong. Enterobacter sakazakii in powdered infant formula

https://www.cfs.gov.hk/sc_chi/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fm_02_04.html

Chen Yan, Liu Xiumei. Examples of quantitative risk assessment of foodborne pathogens[J]. Chinese Journal of Food Hygiene, 2008(4).

Yuan Fei, Xu Baoliang, Ren Fazheng, et al. Risk assessment of Enterobacter sakazakii in milk powder[J]. Food Science, 2005, 26(11): 261-265.

Yuan Fei. Research on foodborne pathogens in milk powder and its risk assessment[D]. 2006.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization jointly compiled the "Guidelines for the safe preparation, storage and handling of powdered infant formula"

Source: Nutritionist Ruan Guangfeng