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    Home > Food News > Food Articles > The General Administration of Customs and industry experts reassure consumers

    The General Administration of Customs and industry experts reassure consumers

    • Last Update: 2022-09-04
    • Source: Internet
    • Author: User
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    Recently, Abbott has recalled three milk powders suspected of containing pathogenic bacteria produced at its Michigan factory


    You can avoid buying the products involved without overseas shopping

    On February 18, the FDA announced that it was investigating complaints of four infants infected with Cronobacter and Salmonella, according to an announcement from the General Administration of Customs


    In response to Abbott's recall of three milk powders, the FDA's official website announced preliminary findings on February 20.


    It is understood that Cronobacter infection may cause premature infants, low birth weight infants, and immunocompromised infants to suffer from meningitis, sepsis or necrotizing colitis.


    According to the General Administration of Customs, after verification, it was found that the above-mentioned products were not exported to China through general trade; Voluntary recall


    Abbott China said in a statement that if consumers hold Xikang Baby Tim products that are valid after April 1, 2022, they can call the official customer service hotline 4008206111 for return consultation


    This incident should be a wake-up call

    Song Liang, a senior dairy analyst, said that Abbott milk powder products sold in China are mainly produced in Singapore and Jiaxing, Zhejiang, and only cross-border purchases involve the above-mentioned problems, while the Chinese market involves a very small audience


    Song Liang said that in recent years, domestic milk powder market share accounted for 60%, foreign milk powder accounted for 40%, and the cross-border purchase business has shrunk significantly


    Data show that in 2021, China's imports of infant formula milk powder will drop by 22.


    Song Liang said that Abbott's involvement in the milk powder safety incident will further impact its performance in the Chinese market


    Chinese food industry analyst Zhu Danpeng also believes that in recent years, Abbott's overall operation in the Chinese market has not been smooth, and its performance has not been satisfactory.


    Zhu Danpeng said that this incident is also a wake-up call for the entire milk powder industry.


     

      Further reading

      In response to several questions that consumers are more concerned about in this incident, Ruan Guangfeng, director of the Science and Technology Communication Department of the Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center, answered recently


      What is Cronobacter?

      Cronobacter sakazakii, also known as Cronobacter sakazakii and Enterobacter sakazakii, exists widely in natural environments, such as water, soil, plant roots, animal intestines, and even processed foods


      The vitality of Enterobacter sakazakii is very tenacious.


      How does it get into milk powder?

      Infant formula is the main source of infection of E.


      Enterobacter sakazakii has stronger resistance to high osmotic pressure than Escherichia coli, and can survive in dry milk powder for a long time, and Enterobacter sakazakii has strong heat resistance.
    Most are still alive
    .
    Therefore, even if there is only a very small amount of E.
    sakazakii contamination in milk powder, it may multiply rapidly and massively during the preparation and placement process, resulting in the occurrence of infant infection
    .
    China's national standard clearly stipulates that Enterobacter sakazakii should not be detected in dairy products
    .

      What's the harm?

      Enterobacter sakazakii mainly infects infants, especially premature infants, infants with low birth weight and low immunity, and causes septicemia, meningitis, necrotizing enterocolitis and other diseases
    .

      Meningitis caused by Enterobacter sakazakii can cause complications such as cerebral infarction, brain abscess, and ventricular encephalitis.
    Patients often have severe neurological sequelae, and the fatality rate is 40%-80%
    .
    Foreign literature reports that about 4% of meningoencephalitis cases in infants are caused by Enterobacter sakazakii
    .
    In addition, the bacteria can cause infection in the elderly or immunocompromised people
    .

      What should parents do?

      Parents, don't panic
    .
    In fact, the US FDA's food recall system updates various food safety recall information almost every day.
    This information is more of an early warning reminder, which does not mean that the food is necessarily unsafe and has great harm
    .

      Furthermore, E.
    sakazakii has the highest risk of infection in neonates (born 28 days or younger) and infants younger than 2 months, especially preterm, less than 2.
    5 kg and immunocompromised infants
    .
    Babies over 2 months, especially over 6 months, have a very low risk of infection
    .
    From the first report in 1958, to 2020, only 120 E.
    sakazakii infections have been reported worldwide
    .

      For milk powder, the water temperature is 40°C or 70°C?

      Studies have shown that the risk can be significantly reduced if milk powder is prepared with water at a temperature not lower than 70°C, as hot water at this temperature kills any Enterobacter sakazakii bacteria in the milk powder
    .
    When the water temperature is below 70°C, the risk of infection is greatly increased
    .

      Therefore, for safety reasons, some health institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the British National Health Service (NHS) recommend using water not lower than 70 °C to prepare milk powder, and then use running water or put it in cold water to quickly cool down.
    Give it to the baby when it is not hot, it is best to drink it within 2 hours, and it is best to throw it away if it is not finished
    .

      Enterobacter sakazakii has a very low risk of infection for babies over 2 months old, so babies over 2 months old can use water at 40°C to make milk powder
    .

      (Comprehensive arrangement by Zhou Yan)

      "China Food News" (February 25, 2022 03 edition)

      (Editor-in-charge: Zhou Yan)

     

     

     

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