Baby Milk Powder: Cereulide

Lord Patel Excerpts

Wednesday 4th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

Obviously, we are very concerned about toxins and ensuring that there is no damage done to people: that is the reason for the product recall. The effect of this is that it creates bacteria, so it is like food poisoning in that respect.

With regard to what the noble Baroness has said about ARA oil, the concern of the FSA is very much about safety. What has happened here, as I understand, is that ARA oil is a very common ingredient, but this one appears to have had some contamination, which has affected certain batches, and it is those that are being recalled.

[Lord Patel (CB)]

My Lords, what the Minister said is correct, but only partially. Arachidonic acid is the key component that may contain bacillus cereus, which is the product that produces the toxin cereulide, which causes problems for babies including vomiting and diarrhoea. It is the same as any bacteria or virus that causes the gut rot that we often experience. It is a supply chain problem and the current regulatory mechanism relies on self-regulation. That is what needs to be addressed. We had a similar problem in 2008 with another chemical called melamine, which was in milk products and caused kidney damage to babies. Does the Minister agree that it is the regulation of the supply chain and production that needs to be addressed?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

As ever, the noble Lord has put things better than I did. I understand the point he is making. The FSA’s role, certainly in the incident response, includes chasing supply chains to identify any additional potential products and businesses. I certainly agree that it is very important to stem any difficulty. But, as it is a live incident, the only point I would make, as I said to the noble Baroness, is that the focus is very much on managing the situation. Therefore, there has not been the opportunity to look into the detail that I agree it needs. That will happen, as it always does, in an incident such as this.