The South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA) is urging the state's retailers, food banks and food surplus companies to check their facilities for any ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula—a recently recalled product that has been associated with dozens of cases of infant botulism.
The alert follows a notice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that the recalled formula is still being found for sale around the country.
All batches of ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula were recalled last fall due to potential contamination by Clostridium botulinum. Twenty-eight confirmed cases and 20 probable cases of infant botulism, a life-threatening illness, have been linked to the product.
The FDA reports that despite the recall, regulators in other states have recently found the product on shelves at surplus and distressed food sellers, including discount, salvage and outlet stores. Retailers and distributors that find either the recalled formula or outdated infant products as part of their supply should immediately remove and destroy it.
The FDA and SCDA caution that consumers should also be on the lookout for the ByHeart formula and if found, should immediately discard the product. Consumers who find the product at a store or food bank are asked to notify the SCDA by email at scdarapidalert@scda.sc.gov.