Infant milk recall

Picot and Milumel brands of infant milk products from Lactalis Group in Laval, France have been recalled effective yesterday due to fears of salmonella bacteria contamination.

The Ministry of Health yesterday warned customers to dispose of or return the products if they have purchased them. “Anyone who has purchased these products should contact the Ministry of Health’s Chemistry, Food and Drugs Division at the toll free line 800-2333 (CFDD) or 623-2834 or 623-5242. Salmonella poisoning symptoms include severe diarrhoea, stomach cramps and vomiting. Anyone who may have consumed the affected product should seek immediate medical attention,” the ministry said in a release.

The ministry said citizens can be reassured, based on an advisory from the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN), TT has not been identified as one of the countries which imported the affected products.

INFOSAN is the World Health Organisation body that assists member states in managing food safety risks and ensuring rapid sharing of information during food safety emergencies to stop the spread of contaminated food from one country to another.

“To date, 40 countries have been identified by the French authorities as having imported the affected products. These include Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, China, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Georgia, Greece, Guinea, Haiti, Hong Kong SAR (China), Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Spain, Sudan, Switzerland, Taiwan (China), Togo, the Netherlands, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and Yemen. People travelling to these territories should take the necessary precautions,” the ministry said.