BABY MILK PROBE AS 36 FALL ILL

Medical experts investigate formula Parents advised to check for recalls

- BY MARTIN BAGOT

HEALTH experts are investigating possible contamination of baby formula after seven Scots tots were among 36 infants who fell ill.

The UK Health Security Agency launched the probe, looking at children who had consumed formula and come down with food poisoning.

It comes after the Food Standards Agency confirmed last month that Nestlé was undertaking a precautionary product recall of several batches of 12 SMA Infant Formula and Follow-On Formula due to suspicions they may contain cereulide.

The toxin can cause sudden nausea, vomiting and stomach pain up to six hours after ingestion.

In younger infants, it can change the body's salt balance and lead to complications such as dehydration, which in severe cases can be life-threatening.

The UKHSA said it and partner agencies had received 24 reports in England, seven in Scotland, three in Wales, one in Northern Ireland and one from the Crown Dependencies.

Gauri Godbole, the deputy director of gastrointestinal infections at the UKHSA, said: "Current surveillance indicators do not show unusual increases in reports of vomiting in children under the age of one for this time of year, but UKHSA are monitoring these outputs and continue to investigate the public health implications of this recall, including the impact of the toxin on children.