Firm waited to recall rancid baby food

CARLY WEEKS 
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
January 29, 2008 at 8:59 AM EST

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and My Organic Baby Inc. waited a week before telling the public that four of its products may be rancid, and only disclosed the fact after receiving a report that a baby had become ill after eating the food.

My Organic Baby Inc., based in Vaughan, Ont., issued a national recall this past Friday of four varieties of baby cereal because of fears the products could pose a health threat. Since then, the company and the food agency have received several calls from parents who said their babies had become sick after eating the food.

But on Jan. 16, more than a week before the recall was issued, the company received test results confirming the products were rancid, and asked stores to take the products off their shelves, according to company spokeswoman Diana Robinson.

The company disclosed the problem to the CFIA on Jan. 18 and the agency started an investigation to determine the scope of the problem and whether there were safety concerns that would warrant a product recall, she said. In Canada, food recalls are voluntary and conducted by the company selling the affected product.

At the time, My Organic Baby decided not to issue a national recall because testers at the University of Guelph said there were no health concerns associated with the products, Ms. Robinson said.

"It did not look like there was a wide-reaching and widespread issue," Ms. Robinson said yesterday.

But My Organic Baby later received a call from a mother who said her baby became sick after eating the food, which prompted the company to issue a national recall.

Over the weekend, the company has received about five other calls from parents who were concerned their babies became sick as a result of eating rancid baby food.

The CFIA has also received some reports of babies who became sick after eating the baby food. The agency is working to determine whether the illnesses are associated with the My Organic Baby food.

The company said it sent samples of the baby food to an independent lab at the University of Guelph after receiving calls from retail stores about a smell coming from their products.

Tests showed the taste and smell of the baby food had changed, but not its molecular composition, Ms. Robinson said.

Although they received several reports of illnesses, the company said it's uncertain whether anyone became sick as a result of its products.

"Babies spit up. Babies get sick. It's very difficult in a way to isolate it back to this. We are erring on the side of caution though," Ms. Robinson said.

The baby food apparently went rancid because of problems with a new plastic liner being used in the products. Instead of lengthening the food's shelf life, as the company had hoped, the liner caused the product to lose freshness at a quicker rate.

The rancid food may have a foul odour and could cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea if it's consumed, according to the CFIA.

A recall specialist with the food agency said it's not uncommon for companies to ask stores to stop selling products before issuing a public recall, because it can take time to determine the scope of the problem and gather the most accurate data to pass on to consumers.

"Sometimes you may not have all the information necessary to give the consumer the adequate information," Garfield Balsom said.

But he added that the recall of rancid baby food presents a challenge because while most adults eating the food would immediately recognize a problem, babies may not.

"They don't have the ability to tell you something is wrong with the product," Mr. Balsom said.

The recalled products are Step A Organic Barley Baby Cereal, Step A Organic Brown Rice Baby Cereal, Step A Organic Oatmeal Baby Cereal and Step B Multigrain Baby Cereal and have "best by" dates of April or June, 2008.