Nestle is recalling some batches of its infant nutrition products, including SMA, BEBA and NAN formulas, from 25 countries, with the majority of the impact felt in Europe, due to possible contamination with a toxin that can cause nausea and vomiting.
The recall, which began on a smaller scale in December, adds pressure on new Chief Executive Philipp Navratil, who is seeking to revive growth through a portfolio review after a period of management upheaval.
Nestle, which makes products ranging from KitKat to Nescafe, said late on Monday that no illnesses had been confirmed in connection with the recalled products.
After a quality issue was detected in an ingredient from a leading supplier, Nestle undertook "testing of all arachidonic acid oil and corresponding oil mixes used in the production of its potentially impacted infant nutrition products," a Nestle spokesperson said.
With testing complete, Nestle has recalled affected products and is activating alternative suppliers of arachidonic acid oil, ramping up production at several factories and accelerating the release of unaffected products from distribution centres to maintain supply.
Problems with baby formula can be damaging for companies. Reckitt is exploring options, including a sale, for its Mead Johnson business, which faces hundreds of lawsuits in the U.S. over claims – which it denies – that its infant formula can cause a fatal intestinal illness in premature babies.
Nestle, whose shares have fallen more than 3% in the last two sessions, controls almost a quarter of the $92.2 billion global infant nutrition market, according to SkyQuest Technology Group.
Nestle does not publish sales data, but infant formula is part of its Nutrition and Health Science division, which accounted for 16.6% of total sales of 91.4 billion Swiss francs ($115.4 billion) in 2024.
Nestle said the recall covered batches sold across Europe, as well as in Türkiye and Argentina, due to possible contamination with cereulide, a toxin produced by some strains of Bacillus cereus.
The toxin "is unlikely to be deactivated or destroyed by cooking, using boiling water, or when making the infant milk," said Britain's Food Standards Agency. "Cereulide ... can cause food poisoning symptoms which can be quick to develop and include vomiting and stomach cramps," said Jane Rawling, head of incidents at the FSA.
Austria's health ministry said the recall affected more than 800 products from over 10 Nestle factories and was the largest in the company's history. A Nestle spokesperson could not verify those figures.
Nestle published batch numbers for products sold in various countries that should not be consumed and said it was working to minimize supply disruption.
The company said it identified the potential risk at one factory in the Netherlands. Dutch food safety authority NVWA said Nestle's investigation showed the contaminated raw material had been used at multiple production sites, including outside the Netherlands.
