Abbott Nutrition Formula Contaminated with Cronobacter Sakazakii Class Action

Abbott Laboratories, Inc., doing business as Abbott Nutrition, makes and sells formula under the brand names Similac, Alimentum, and Elecare. The complaint for this class action alleges that certain batches of the products were contaminated with Cronobacter sakazakii and may have sickened babies who ingested the contaminated formula.

The Multi-State Class is all consumers who bought any Similac, Alimentum, or EleCare product in the US between April 1, 2021 and the present, for personal use or consumption. A Vermont Subclass has also been defined for those in the above class who bought the products in Vermont, between April 1, 2018 and the present, for personal use or consumption.

The plaintiff for this class action, Amy Mailhiot, has a child, identified in the complaint only as PM. In June 2021, around the time PM was born, Mailhiot began buying Similac Alimentum baby formula and fed it to PM.

The complaint alleges, “In or around February 2022, [Mailhiot’s] infant child, [PM], became irritable and very sick after consuming the tainted formula necessitating medical intervention.” PM was eventually diagnosed as having a Cronobacter sakazakii infection, the complaint claims, and Mailhiot found that the lot number of the formula PM had drunk was one of the lots that Abbott recalled.

On Februrary 17, 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), warned consumers not to buy or use baby formula that had been recalled: “Do not use recalled Similac, Alimentum and EleCare powdered infant formulas produced in Sturgis, Michigan.”

The FDA, investigating reports of Cronobacter sakazakii and Salmonella Newport bacteria in the baby formulas, linked two infant deaths and multiple infant illnesses to Cronobacter contamination of the formulas produced in its Sturgis, Michigan facility, the complaint says.

Abbott issued a recall the following day, February 18, 2022, for formula with certain numbers and expiration dates on the packaging, and was expanded on February 28. But the complaint alleges that the recall did not include any refund or replacement for the formula that had to be disposed of.

The complaint alleges that inspects by the FDA “uncovered numerous, egregious violations of statutes and regulations … in [Abbott’s] manufacture, processing, packing, and holding of Similac, Alimentum and EleCare powdered infant formulas.”

The complaint details some of what it alleges involves “disregard of reasonable, responsible industry practices, as well as applicable statutes and regulations, with respect to manufacture, processing, packing, and holding of Similac, Alimentum and EleCare powdered infant formulas. These practices include the failure to ensure that the formula would not become adulterated, a failure to document the determination of whether a hazard exists, and the failure to ensure that employees are wearing proper protective gear.

Also, the complaint alleges that Abbott destroyed product in June 2020 at the same plant because of a Cronobacter contamination.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Breach of warranty, Material Omission, Negligence, Strict Product Liability—Failure to Warn, Strict Product Liability—Manufacturing Defect