A spokesperson for the US-headquartered company told us it had received “a few non-serious medical complaints, such as diarrhea” in connection with the products meant for sick children at risk of malnutrition over the age of one.
The two effected batches of PediaSure Plus Fibre Vanilla and PediaSure Plus Banana were shipped to the UK, Ireland, Russia/Pridnestrovje, Spain, Turkey, the Netherlands, Bahrain, Malta and the UAE.
Asked how the issue arose, it said: “This was an isolated incident, and we have taken the necessary steps to ensure this does not happen again.”
The company did not respond to our request for information on how many individual products were implicated.
Disease-related malnutrition
The fibre and protein product is designed to help support gastrointestinal function of children weighing 8-30 kg with, or at risk of developing, disease-related
malnutrition.
The milkshake-like product is a ‘food for special medical purposes’ available on prescription and for use under medical supervision, and can be used for tube feeding.
The company said in a statement: “The product in some bottles may have a different texture or consistency than typical product. Upon our investigation, we have determined that the product does not meet our high quality standards.
“While the likelihood of serious health risks for children who drink this product is remote, we are asking customers to discontinue using product from these two lots.”
The two batches were manufactured in the Netherlands.
The company said no other batches of this product, nor any of its other nutrition products, were affected.
Abbott has contacted wholesalers, hospitals and individual patients supplied with the affected products, which have a best-before date of April 2017.
“The health of our consumers is always our top priority, and Abbott is committed to delivering safe and effective nutrition products,” it said.
Both the Irish and UK food safety authorities have posted recall warnings.
Nutricia recall
The incident follows another safety mishap from competitor Danone this month.
Its medical and infant nutrition business Nutricia recalled a 3,400-can batch of its Seravit nutrition product for hospitalised children in the UK and Ireland after it was discovered the products contained too high levels of amino acids, minerals and fats.