Nestlé recalled baby formula in 60+ countries — weeks after finding the toxin

In late November 2025, Nestlé detected cereulide — a toxin produced by Bacillus cereus that causes vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramps — in infant formula made at a Netherlands facility. The contamination traced back to a single supplier of arachidonic acid (ARA) oil, an ingredient added to premium formulas to support infant brain development: Cabio Biotech, based in Wuhan, China.

Nestlé issued its first recall on December 11, 2025, covering France's Guigoz and Nidal brands. It did not expand the recall internationally until January 5, 2026, by which point it covered SMA, Beba, Guigoz and Alfamino across more than 60 countries — one of the largest recalls in the company's history. Nestlé's China arm separately listed 30 recalled batches across four brands: Lactogen, NAN Bochu, NAN Shuyi and Wyeth Nutrition Children's Growth Milk Powder.

Lactalis and Danone recalled formula of their own after Nestlé's disclosure — Lactalis pulled six lots of its Picot brand across 18 countries, and Danone blocked a Thailand batch before it reached shelves. Health authorities in seven European countries reported infants with gastrointestinal distress possibly linked to the affected products, and local prosecutors in three French towns opened separate inquiries into infant deaths; Bordeaux's prosecutor later found no link between one of those deaths and Nestlé's Guigoz powder.

Paris' public prosecutor opened criminal investigations into five infant-formula makers, including Nestlé, Danone and Lactalis, over the roughly five-week gap between detecting the toxin and issuing a global recall. Consumer group foodwatch Netherlands filed a separate legal complaint alleging failures in traceability and delayed public warning.

A single supplier's ARA oil contaminated six brands, so Nestlé's five-week delay before a 60-country recall drew French criminal probes.

Nestlé detected cereulide at the end of November 2025 but confined its first recall to France on December 11 — a global recall for the same contamination didn't follow until January 5, 2026.

A single supplier's ARA oil ingredient sat inside formula sold under at least six Nestlé brands, so one contamination event in one Chinese plant became a recall spanning 60-plus countries.

Nestlé named the contamination before it named the supplier, and only under pressure — the delay in both disclosures drew the French criminal investigation, not the contamination itself.

Nestlé knew about the contamination for roughly five weeks before recalling globally. Concentrating one ingredient in one supplier turned that supplier's failure into every brand's recall at once.

The recall stayed open across more than 60 countries into February 2026, with Paris prosecutors investigating five infant-formula makers over the disclosure delay and separate French inquiries into three infant deaths still unresolved — one already cleared of a link to Nestlé's product. Nestlé has not disclosed why its first recall on December 11 was limited to France when the contaminated ARA oil was already known to supply its international formula lines.