ByHeart Promised a Better Infant Formula. Then Botulism Struck
The company said it had 'higher standards,' but 31 babies have now been hospitalized.
ByHeart accounts for about 1% of all US formula sales, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Photographer: Cheyanne Mumphrey/AP PhotoThey called it the “biggest sale of the year.”
Three days before US Food and Drug Administration officials told ByHeart on Nov. 7 it was investigating botulism cases in babies that had been given the company’s infant formula, it was promoting an early Black Friday sale. When ByHeart heard from health officials, it issued a limited recall, which expanded into a full recall less than a week later. The formula maker has now confirmed the presence of spores in its cans and is warning all its products could be contaminated.