Infant botulism cases linked to premium formulas raise safety concerns

Several infants fell ill with botulism after consuming infant formula from the premium brand ByHeart, and a second brand, Nara Organics, has also been implicated. Health officials say the outbreak highlights that higher-priced formulas are not automatically safer.

One child, now nearly two years old, survived thanks to the antitoxin BabyBIG administered when she was seven months old. Experts stress that the bacteria Clostridium botulinum can contaminate any product if manufacturing controls fail.

The incident is prompting food-safety regulators and consumer-advocacy groups to re-examine testing standards for infant nutrition products, and could lead to tighter oversight of formula production.