Abbott Formula Recall Information

Infant Formula Recall Alert

Utah WIC is aware of the Abbott infant formula recall affecting Similac, Alimentum and Elecare products. If you have any of these products please do not feed them to your infant or child until you verify whether they are affected by the recall. Please read the information below and contact your WIC clinic if you have additional urgent questions.

Abbott has developed a web-based tool to determine if the product was included in this recall. Consumers can click here to check their product’s lot number, located at the bottom of their product.

Families who have purchased recalled product may attempt to return it to the store for exchange of the SAME product with an unaffected lot number if the store has any in stock. Stores cannot exchange the formula for a refund or alternate product. Please do not return the formula to your WIC clinic or throw it away as you may later have an opportunity to return it for a replacement product.

WIC is unable to provide a replacement product at this time. Families who immediately need infant formula to feed their child should visit grocery stores to purchase formula using personal funds. If the formula brand that is normally used is not available, families may need to purchase a similar product of another brand to feed their baby until replacement Abbott formula products become available.

The information about the recall that is known at this point follows below. Please check back to this web page for any updated information we receive in the days to come.

Abbott Nutrition announced a voluntary recall of infant powdered formula manufactured at their Sturgis facility in Michigan, including Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare. This recall comes after four consumer complaints related to Cronobacter sakazakii and Salmonella. Parents and caregivers of infants who have used these products and have concerns about the health of their child should contact the child’s health care provider.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alerted consumers to avoid purchasing and using infant powdered formula from Abbott Nutrition’s Sturgis, Michigan facility. The FDA is also investigating these consumer complaints of infections and has initiated an onsite inspection of the facility.

The FDA is advising consumers not to use Similac, Alimentum, or Elecare powdered infant formulas if the following is included in the product’s lot number:

  • The first two digits of the code are 22 through 37; and
  • The code on the container contains K8, SH or Z2; and
  • The expiration date is 4-1-2022 (APR 2022) or later.

Please note that this is a targeted recall and does not affect all Abbott products. The recall does not include liquid formula products or any metabolic deficiency nutrition formulas. The FDA states that consumers should continue to use all products not covered by the advisory. As WIC providers have consistently echoed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA advises parents and caregivers to never dilute infant formula and to never make or feed homemade infant formula to infants.

Thus far, consumer complaints included four instances of infant illnesses across three states, including Minnesota, Ohio, and Texas. In all four cases, infants were hospitalized and Cronobacter may have contributed to death in one case. Abbott product manufactured in Michigan was distributed across the country. Cronobacter bacteria can cause life-threatening infections like sepsis or meningitis. Symptoms may include poor feeding, irritability, temperature changes, jaundice, grunting breaths and abnormal movements. Salmonella are a group of bacteria that can cause gastrointestinal illness and symptoms like diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps.

If your infant or child has consumed an affected product and is showing symptoms of illness, please contact your doctor or seek medical care at a hospital if symptoms are severe.