Nara Organics recalls US infant formula after botulism cases linked to product

Nara Organics is voluntarily recalling all of its infant formula sold in the United States after the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention flagged three cases of infant botulism in babies who had consumed the product.

The company said the FDA and CDC contacted with information about the cases. Infant botulism occurs when babies ingest spores of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, which can grow in their immature digestive systems and produce toxins. Symptoms include constipation, poor feeding, drooping eyelids and breathing difficulties, and the illness can lead to respiratory arrest in severe cases.

Nara Organics said none of its formula had tested positive for C. botulinum but that it was recalling the products "in an abundance of caution." The company's powdered infant formula was sold through Target stores in the US, as well as on Target.com and Nara.com, between July 2025 and June 2026. The product was not sold outside the US.

The FDA said on June 13 that the three affected infants were hospitalized and undergoing treatment in California, Washington and Pennsylvania. There were no fatalities.

The recall follows a series of similar incidents in the US infant formula market this year. A multi-state infant botulism outbreak was earlier linked to powdered formula made by ByHeart. In May, New Zealand's a2 Milk (ATM.NZ) recalled three batches of its a2 Platinum formula sold in the US after detecting the toxin cereulide.

The FDA said in April that tests on infant formula samples available in the US had found very low levels of contaminants, and it had confirmed the national supply was safe for consumption.