More retailers pull formula after infant death

Associated Press

COLUMBIA, Mo.

Several more national retailers have joined Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in pulling a batch of powdered infant formula from their shelves after a Missouri newborn who consumed it apparently died of a rare bacterial infection, the companies said Friday.

Officials at Supervalu Inc., Walgreen Co., Kroger Co. and Safeway said they have removed 12.5-ounce cans of Enfamil Newborn with the lot number ZP1K7G from various stores across the country as a precaution until federal health officials complete tests on the formula.

Ten-day-old Avery Cornett died Sunday after getting sick several days earlier in the southern Missouri town of Lebanon. Preliminary hospital tests indicated he died of a rare infection caused by bacteria known as Cronobacter sakazakii.

The source of the bacteria that caused the infection hasn’t been determined, but it can be found in dried milk and powdered formula as well as naturally in the environment and in plants such as wheat and rice.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we are removing the formula from certain stores,” Supervalu spokesman Mike Siemienas said Friday. “We will hold these products from sale until we receive additional guidance from regulatory authorities and the manufacturer.”

Retailers under the Supervalu corporate banner that pulled the product include Shaw’s, a New England grocer; Shop ‘n Save in St. Louis; Jewel-Osco in the Chicago area; Acme supermarkets in New Jersey and Philadelphia; Farm Fresh in Virginia; and some Albertson’s in southern California.

Kroger officials said they withdrew the formula from properties in Arizona, Indiana, New Mexico and the mid-Atlantic region. Kroger spokesman Keith Dailey said the company was able to remove most of the questionable batch from its warehouses and distribution centers before they were sent to retail outlets.

Officials with Walgreen Co. did not indicate how many stores were affected, or their locations, while the affected Safeway stores were primarily in the Chicago area, a company spokeswoman said.