Charlotte County condos and co-ops may soon see a change to inspections1 injured in crash involving school bus in Bonita Springs
(Credit: MGN) A mother’s infant contracted salmonella, putting him in the emergency room, and she thinks baby formula was the culprit. The mother, Jennifer Beljan, said she doesn’t think it’s a one-time thing. “His hands were, like, purple, he was burning up,” Beljan said. She said he had a high fever, diarrhea, and was almost lifeless. And like any parent, when you see symptoms like that, you go straight to the doctor. “Can you imagine your 4-and-a half-month-old baby, it was just, it was really traumatic,” Beljan said She shared pictures of her son Jacob hooked up to an IV and catheter two weeks ago after salmonella landed him in NCH’s emergency room. “The doctors had mentioned that there were numerous cases locally of infants and toddlers that had been diagnosed with salmonella,” Beljan explained, “and the only common thread that they were aware of was a powdered formula from Enfamil.” That’s why Beljan shared her experience on a Facebook group for moms. She wanted to know why there wasn’t a recall. WINK News requested an interview with the ER doctor who Beljan says first mentioned the connection. NCH never responded to the interview request, but did say, “We cannot speculate as to where or how children who come to the pediatric emergency department are contracting salmonella.” We asked pediatrician Dr. Nicole Bruno with Island Coast Pediatrics (who didn’t treat Jacob) if it’s possible the formula got him sick. “It’s not impossible, but that’s why we pay attention to cases when they’re young and very symptomatic to see if there’s a trend,” Bruno said. Bruno says there are other common causes as well. “You pick up the can of formula and chicken that went into your basket at the food store and touched the outside, and then when you touched it, you didn’t wash your hands and made the bottle.” Beljan says she washes her hands religiously, adding, “We sterilize and boil everything. So for me, it’s tough because there’s not a lot of options for where he could have picked up that bacteria.” There are no recalls for the particular formula she used, and the manufacturer says they test every batch before it’s sold. For her, the not knowing is unnerving, but there is good news. “He is doing good,” Beljan said. “We have smiles and giggles.” Enfamil refunded Beljan the more than $400 in formula she ordered from them. Lynn Kenney, communications director for RB, which manufacturers Enfamil, said in an emailed statement: “I can confirm that the batch associated with the product this mother purchased tested negative for salmonella.” Read the full statement below: The health and safety of infants and children is our top priority, and for that reason we are committed to providing the highest quality and safest product to every market in which we do business. Each of our manufacturing facilities around the world adheres to international safety guidelines and our own stringent quality standards so that we can assure the highest quality products. Parents can be assured that our infant formulas are safe and nutritious feeding options for their infants when prepared, stored, and handled according to package directions. I can confirm that members of our Consumer Resource Center and Quality teams have been in contact with the mother to address her concerns and also to offer a refund for the product she purchased. We take the satisfaction of our customers seriously and have established procedures in place to ensure that consumer complaints are handled in a timely, professional and appropriate manner. Quality Protocols related to Salmonella testing We take many precautions to be sure all the products we distribute are safe. This includes testing every batch of our product for Salmonella before it is released to market. If, in a rare situation, unwanted bacteria are identified as part of our regular testing, the product is immediately discarded and not released for sale. In this case, I can confirm that the batch associated with the product this mother purchased tested negative for salmonella. For Salmonella testing, we follow FDA requirements and use validated testing specific for Salmonella. We follow Good Manufacturing Practices before, during, and after the production of our products. We take the responsibility of making safe infant formulas seriously. We work closely with the FDA, and the FDA can make site visits to our production plant anytime they choose, without prior notice. Quality Assurance Our infant products undergo extensive quality and safety checks throughout the manufacturing process—from raw materials to finished product. A representative number of samples from every batch we produce is tested to ensure the product meets our stringent quality specifications. This includes routine testing to verify the absence of pathogenic microorganisms of public health concern. Each batch of our products is assured to meet the company’s high quality and safety standards as verified by our proprietary Quality Systems that exist in every manufacturing facility. We release our products only if they pass our strict testing. A key element of our Quality Systems is our Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system, which records the path of an ingredient in our infant and toddler products from its initial supplier through all processing stages until it reaches our consumer. In addition, every product bears a unique batch code that our consumers can easily identify and read. When the need arises, our highly trained employees can use the unique batch codes to use precise and timely information to confirm the safety of our products for our many audiences, including consumers, government agencies and the media. General Guidance on How to Properly Prepare, Store and Handle Formula Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water and dry them well before preparing formula or drinks. Proper hygiene, preparation, dilution, use and storage are important when preparing formulas or drinks. Your child’s health depends on carefully following the instructions on the product label. Ask your child’s doctor about the need to use cooled, boiled water for mixing and the need to boil clean utensils, bottles, and nipples in water before use.