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Nestle Issues Global Recall of Some Baby Formula Products Over Toxin Fears
Nestle has issued a global recall of some baby formula products over concerns they contain a toxin which can cause food poisoning. The food and drink giant said specific batches of its SMA infant formula and follow-on formula were not safe to be fed to babies.
The batches were sold across the world, Nestle said, and they potentially contain cereulide, which can trigger nausea and vomiting when consumed. The company said there had been no confirmed reports of illness associated with the products, but was recalling them “out of an abundance of caution”. “The safety and wellbeing of babies is our absolute priority,” Nestle said. “We sincerely apologise for any concern or inconvenience caused to parents, caregivers, and customers.”
Cereulide is a toxin produced by some strains of the Bacillus cereus bacteria that can cause food poisoning symptoms, which can be quick to develop and include vomiting and stomach cramps. It is unlikely to be deactivated or destroyed by cooking, using boiling water or when making the infant milk, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) warned.
Can Schools Handle Federal Calls for Fewer Ultraprocessed Foods?
As the federal focus on school nutrition continues to take aim at ultra-processed foods, school nutrition directors are increasingly reporting concerns over the future of their meal programs compared to previous years. More directors — 95% — said during the 2025-26 school year that they are seriously or moderately concerned about the financial sustainability of their school nutrition programs three years from now. That’s an uptick from the 92% of directors who expressed the same concerns during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years.
The survey conducted in October had 1,240 school district respondents.
SNA said in a Tuesday statement that it expects federal recommendations will limit ultra-processed foods when the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services jointly release updates to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans this year.
The association added in a position paper it released Tuesday that current federal nutrition standards limiting calories, sodium and added sugar already ensure that school meals are the “healthiest” ones that Americans eat. Partnering K-12 food suppliers are also proactively removing artificial dyes, additives and other concerning ingredients used in school meals, SNA said.
The Hidden Label to Look for on Your Food That Means It Contains Toxic Chemical
Americans may unknowingly be consuming a harmful chemical in one of their grocery store staples. As part of the process of getting chicken from farm to grocery store, manufacturers chill the meat in large cold water tanks that contain chlorine to kill off bacteria like Salmonella, Campylobacter and E.coli.
However, this can result in the meat soaking up some of the chemicals used to clean them. Meanwhile, chlorine rinses, which also include chlorine alternatives and organic acids, are not foolproof protection against food-borne illness, as they do not fully sanitize the chicken. In the EU and UK, the use of chlorine baths is banned. Instead, they primarily use air chilling with cold air or, sometimes, nontoxic acid sprays.
The US system, regulated by the USDA, views the chlorinated chill as a critical final step to ensure a safe product and considers it safe and effective. The USDA permits chlorine rinses and sprays, often at 18 to 30 parts per million (PPM) or up to 50 ppm in chill tanks, to control pathogens. The primary concern among public health bodies and experts is not only that chlorine residue poses risk to humans, but that it masks poor hygiene practices elsewhere in the process, as well as poor animal welfare guarantees at farms that allow for the spread of pathogens that may survive the chlorine process, which does not sterilize chicken.
High Ultraprocessed Food Intake Linked to Lower DNA Methylation
Food is a cornerstone of health, and the healthier your choices are, the healthier you’ll be. However, the modern Western diet, which is filled with ultraprocessed food, is anything but healthy. These products are made with synthetic ingredients that ultimately drive chronic disease.
Now, a new study goes into the mechanisms of ultraprocessed foods, and the findings are shocking. Researchers found that these products reshape your body at the genetic level by rewriting biological instructions, silencing protective genes and activating harmful ones, and basically creating cellular chaos.
In a pilot study published in Nutrients, researchers from the University of São Paulo in Brazil investigated how diets high in ultraprocessed foods affect chemical markers on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) — also known as DNA methylation — among adult women. Specifically, the team wanted to know whether people who eat more of these highly refined foods show measurable differences in gene regulation compared to those who eat less.
UK Starts Ban on Junk Food Ads on Daytime TV and Online
New regulations came into force Monday in Britain banning daytime TV and online adverts for so-called junk foods, in what the government calls a “world-leading action” to tackle childhood obesity. The ban — targeting ads for products high in fat, salt or sugar — is expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets each year, according to the health ministry.
Impacting ads airing before the 9:00 pm watershed and anytime online, it will reduce the number of children living with obesity by 20,000 and deliver around £2 billion ($2.7 bln) in health benefits, the ministry added. The implementation of the measure — first announced in December 2024 — follows other recent steps, including an extended sugar tax on pre-packaged items like milkshakes, ready-to-go coffees and sweetened yoghurt drinks.
Local authorities have also been given the power to stop fast food shops setting up outside schools. The government argues evidence shows advertising influences what and when children eat, shaping preferences from a young age and increasing the risk of obesity and related illnesses.
