Overview
- An EU decision published in the Official Journal on February 25 requires special testing of every second shipment of arachidonic acid oil from China for the toxin cereulide, effective immediately.
- Investigations traced contamination in infant food to arachidonic acid oil used in production and sourced from China.
- EFSA completed a risk assessment and, for the first time, set a safety reference value for cereulide in infant foods to support faster, consistent recalls across the EU.
- Cereulide, a toxin produced by bacteria, can trigger sudden nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain within 30 minutes to six hours after ingestion, according to EFSA.
- Major producers including Danone and Nestlé recalled multiple batches in January, and Nestlé said no illnesses linked to the affected products had been confirmed.