Recently, Abbott recalled three milk powders from the Michigan factory in the United States.
According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the related milk powder has been distributed to more than 30 countries and regions, and the investigation is still ongoing.
It has been verified by the General Administration of Customs of China that the relevant milk powder has not been exported to China through general trade, and it is recommended to "suspend consumption immediately".
At present, the involved special medical product "Xikang Baby Tim" and Abbott's recalled milk powder purchased through non-general trade channels can all be returned and exchanged.
The incidents of milk powder contaminated with Enterobacter sakazakii and Salmonella have occurred from time to time in recent years. The French dairy giant Lanterice has been involved twice. In 2017 alone, about 620 batches of milk powder were recalled globally, and the production company was immediately cancelled in China. Registration qualification.
The Beijing News reporter noticed that the current Abbott factory's registration qualification in China is still "valid" and has not been affected for the time being.
Industry analysts believe that the recall will affect Abbott's reputation and may cause a certain blow to its growing special medical products.
FDA Notifies 1 Associated Case Death
In response to Abbott's recall of three milk powders from Sturgis, Michigan, the FDA announced on its official website that preliminary investigation results showed that among the four consumer complaints received by the FDA, three were Sakazaki Crono. Bacillus contamination report, 1 infant Salmonella infection report.
All four related cases were hospitalized, and one case has been reported to have died, although it is uncertain whether it was entirely caused by E. sakazakii.
Since February 17, Abbott has voluntarily recalled Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare infant formula milk powder produced at the Sturgis factory. The recall information includes the first two digits of the product code are 22 to 37, and the code on the container contains K8, SH or Z2. , the expiration date is April 1, 2022 and later.
Abbott tested the Sturgis facility and found E. sakazakii in non-product contact areas of the facility, but there was no evidence of Salmonella and the investigation is ongoing.
According to the FDA notification, in addition to the United States, Abbott recalled products were distributed to more than 30 countries and regions including Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, and the United Kingdom.
On February 20, the General Administration of Customs of China announced that, upon verification by the General Administration of Customs, the above-mentioned Abbott products were not exported to China through general trade. Supplements have been exported to China, and Abbott China has initiated a voluntary recall.
The General Administration of Customs reminds consumers not to purchase the above-mentioned infant formula milk powder from Abbott for the time being; if anyone purchases the relevant batch of infant formula milk powder from the company through non-general trade channels (such as Haitao), immediately suspend consumption; Those who purchase the above-mentioned special medical products should immediately suspend their consumption.
The General Administration of Customs will closely follow up the FDA's investigation and inform consumers in a timely manner.
Abbott China responded to a reporter from the Beijing News on February 21, saying that there is currently no updated investigation result on the recalled milk powder.
Domestic consumers who hold "Xikang Baby Tim" products valid after April 1, 2022 can call the official customer service hotline 4008206111 for return consultation.
If consumers have purchased US and Canadian versions of Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare powder products that meet the above three recall conditions through non-general trade channels (such as cross-border e-commerce, overseas shopping), they should not eat them for the time being, and contact the purchase platform for return and exchange. , other nutritional products are not affected.
The registration status of the factory involved is still valid
Data show that Cronobacter sakazakii (Enterobacter sakazakii) infection may cause premature infants, low birth weight infants, and immunocompromised infants to suffer from meningitis, sepsis or necrotizing colitis, and mortality due to the diseases caused by them Up to 40%-50%.
Salmonella is a kind of intestinal pathogenic bacteria, which can be divided into various types such as Salmonella typhi, Salmonella paratyphi, and non-typhoid Salmonella, which can cause typhoid, paratyphoid, fever, abdominal pain, etc.
According to the "National Food Safety Standard Infant Formula" and "National Food Safety Standard Infant Formula for Special Medical Purposes", Cronobacter sakazakii and Salmonella should not be detected in infant formula and infant formula for special medical purpose.
However, due to various reasons, the contamination of infant milk powder with Cronobacter sakazakii and Salmonella still occurs.
In May 2016, the Swiss organic infant milk powder brand "Hongle" with a history of more than 80 years, a batch of infant milk powder was notified by the former Heilongjiang Provincial Food and Drug Administration to detect Enterobacter sakazakii, and its Austrian manufacturer was subsequently arrested. Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China suspends the qualification for registration in China.
It is understood that this is the first time that my country has shown a "red card" to an overseas dairy production enterprise.
In March 2019, the State Administration for Market Regulation notified 30 batches of unqualified food, of which Enterobacter sakazakii was detected in 1 batch of "Every Jia" infant formula produced by Heilongjiang Nongken Yingbo Huawei Dairy Co., Ltd.
After investigation and verification by the regulatory authorities, InBev Warwick Dairy produced a total of 139 boxes of this batch of products, with 6 cans per box, a total of 667.2 kilograms, and a value of 29,303.4 yuan.
France's Lactalis has recalled Salmonella-contaminated milk powder twice in recent years.
At the end of 2017, 20 infants from 8 French regions were infected with Salmonella, and 13 of them had consumed milk powder produced by the French CRAON factory of Lanteris.
The French Ministry of Health investigated that its previous recall could not control the risk of contamination, so Lanterice expanded the recall of about 620 batches of milk powder in December of the same year, including the early-warning recall of Celia brand infants and young children sold in China. formula milk powder.
On December 5 of the same year, the CNCA suspended the registration qualification of the factory involved in Lanterice in China.
In January 2019, the French Directorate-General for Competition, Consumption and Anti-Fraud confirmed 4 cases of infants infected with Salmonella due to consumption of Modilac rice flour.
On January 25 of the same year, Lanterice Group also announced a preventive recall of its Spanish-made "Picot AR" infant formula milk powder, totaling 16,300 cans, and the Spanish factory was suspected to be the source of Salmonella contamination.
Judging from past cases, overseas factories contaminated by Enterobacter sakazakii or Salmonella are likely to have their registration qualifications cancelled in China, which means that all infant milk powder brands produced by relevant factories cannot enter China through general trade before registration is resumed. market.
Will Abbott's Sturgis, Michigan plant involved in this incident be affected?
On February 21, a reporter from the Beijing News inquired on the official website of the General Administration of Customs that the current product categories registered by the Sturgis factory in my country include pasteurized milk, infant formula, special medical formula, infant supplementary food, etc. 6 The registration status is "valid", and the registration validity period is as far back as January 2, 2026, and it has not been affected by this recall.
Abbott's milk powder reputation may be affected
According to public information, Abbott has been doing business in China for nearly 30 years. In addition to setting up its China headquarters in Shanghai, it has also established 16 offices, 4 factories and 2 R&D centers.
Since 2010, Abbott has continued to invest in the Chinese market, covering nutritional products, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and diagnostic products.
In 2014, Abbott invested US$230 million in the opening of a nutritional product factory in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, which is its largest domestic investment project.
According to Song Liang, a dairy expert, Abbott, which has a strong medical background, has R&D strength that surpasses many domestic and foreign milk powder brands. The good reputation of the market began to decline.
In the past two years, Abbott Jingzhi, Abbott Xiao Ansu, Abbott Safe Ansu and other products have all been punished for illegal advertising.
In May 2021, Abbott Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. was also fined about 9.0931 million yuan by the Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Bureau for the detection of trace amounts of vanillin in a batch of infant milk powder.
At the same time, Abbott's milk powder business in China also encountered challenges.
Abbott said in its 2020 financial report that in the past three years, Abbott's global nutritional products business has been positively affected by many new products, but the growth in many markets in the United States, Asia and Latin America has been partially offset by challenges from Greater China.
A person familiar with the matter revealed to a reporter from the Beijing News that in the past two years, Abbott’s milk powder business in China has made relatively large adjustments, gradually abandoning the traditional pallet dealer game used by foreign brands. The current channel inventory level is relatively healthy. Abbott Jingzhi, Xiao Ansu Organic milk powder and food for special medical purposes, represented by them, have developed rapidly, but sales of traditional conventional currency products have declined.
"Overall, Abbott's milk powder is tepid in the Chinese market, and its revenue, including special medical food, is around 5 billion yuan."
In the special medicine track, Abbott's global special formula science officer Barbara Marriage said in March 2019 that all six of Abbott's infant formula products for special medical purposes have been registered and approved in China, and special formula nutrition products will become Abbott's fourth Independently operated e-commerce store.
According to Abbott’s latest financial report, in the fourth quarter of 2021, global sales of Abbott’s nutritional products business were approximately US$2.04 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.9%.
Among them, the special medical food Quan'ansu and Yilijia achieved better sales results, which helped the global sales of medical nutrition products to increase by 9% year-on-year.
Song Liang believes that due to the impact of the epidemic and the competitive environment, the performance of foreign milk powder in China is generally sluggish, but cross-border purchase channels are recovering, especially food for special medical care is performing well.
The recall will cause a certain blow to Abbott's special medical products, affect Abbott's reputation in the Chinese market, and undoubtedly worsen its infant milk powder business in China.