The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said on Monday that individual packs of baby formula from a batch recalled last week due to a contamination risk were sold to consumers in Ireland.
The individual packs of Aptamil 1 From Birth First infant milkwere sold via boots.ie for online sales.
They are from a specific batch which was subject to a recall by Danone last week due to the potential presence of cereulide.
They were subject to a recall by Danone last week.
“The FSAI is advising parents, guardians and caregivers who may have the recalled product at home not to feed them to their infant or young child. The implicated products were manufactured in Ireland by Danone and exported to a number of EU countries, the UK and third countries. However, due to indirect distribution to Ireland from the UK, the implicated packs were sold via the Boots.ie website for online sales,” said a statement from the FSAI.
The product and batch being recalled is as follows: Aptamil 1 From Birth First infant milk; pack size:800g Expiry date: 31-10-2026
The FSAI advises that cereulide toxin may be pre-formed in a food and is extremely heat resistant.
Consumption of foods containing cereulide toxin can lead to nausea and severe vomiting.
Symptoms can appear within five hours, and the duration of illness is usually six to 24 hours.
This recall is associated with a contaminated raw ingredient which was also implicated in the recent recalls of some batches of infant formula and follow-on formula.
An ingredient, ARA oil, which was manufactured in China, was contaminated with cereulide and added as an ingredient in base powder used to make infant formula and follow-on formula.
Cereulide is a toxin produced by some strains of the bacterium Bacillus cereus, which can cause food poisoning.
Danone has manufacturing operations in Macroom and in Wexford.
“The FSAI and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine who regulate the Danone manufacturing facilities in Ireland, continue to engage with Danone to ensure that all food safety measures are being taken to protect consumers,” the FSAI said.
Danone is advising customers to contact its Aptamil careline team on 1800 22 1234 if they have any queries regarding the recall, or at https://www.aptaclub.ie/contact-form.html
“Danone never compromises on food safety, and we would like to reassure parents our infant formula products are safe. In light of the current situation in the industry, some local food safety authorities are evolving their guidance. As a responsible manufacturer and to comply with the latest guidance, Danone has withdrawn from targeted markets a very limited number of specific batches of infant formula products,” a Danone statement said.
“Customers who ordered Aptamil First Infant Milk 800g via boots.ie only between June and July 2025 may have inadvertently received the isolated batch that was recalled in the UK market due to indirect distribution. This relates to an isolated batch number / expiry 31-10-2026. This does not impact any other Danone products in the Irish market and our infant formula products can be purchased and used as normal.
“Danone’s priority is to ensure that parents and healthcare professionals can continue to place their trust in the safety and quality of our infant formula products.”
Companies affected by the precautionary recalls of infant milk powder on worries it could be contaminated with the toxin cereulide include three of the world’s largest dairy groups, Nestle, Danone, and privately-owned Lactalis.
Infant formula accounts for about 21% of Danone’s group revenue, according to Bernstein analysts.
For Nestle, the category likely represents around 5%. The potential cost to Danone could be up to €100m while for Nestle it could be as much as 10 times higher.
Danone shares closed 2.3% lower after falling as much as 6% in early trade, their lowest since January 2025.
Swiss group Nestle’s shares had pared most of their losses, closing down 0.9% after falling as much as 3% in morning trade to a five-month low.
The shares’ fall this month was still at nearly 9% after batches were recalled in dozens of countries earlier this month.
The recalls highlight how a single compromised ingredient can spread through the tightly regulated infant nutrition sector, triggering swift action from regulators and causing rapid market jitters.
