The nationwide infant botulism outbreak associated with ByHeart infant formula has grown to 39 cases in 18 states. All 39 infants were hospitalized; no deaths have been reported.
ByHeart Inc. tested its products and found C. botulinum Type A in five of 36 samples across three lots. As of November 26, the outbreak includes 37 cases of infant botulism spanning 17 states. FDA has published inspection documents for ByHeart production facilities confirming a history of food safety issues.
Although the official number of infant botulism cases included in the ByHeart infant formula outbreak remains at 31, the unusual spike in infant botulism treatments recorded by the California Department of Public Health has grown to more than 100, and several babies with exposure to ByHeart formula were treated for botulism as early as November 2024, months ahead of the spike in illnesses.
As of November 19, the number of infant botulism cases linked to consumption of ByHeart formula has grown to 31 across 15 states. ByHeart's testing of its own product has confirmed the presence of Clostridium botulinum.
The outbreak of infant botulism linked to ByHeart infant formula has grown to 23 confirmed cases in 13 states. All infants have been hospitalized, with no deaths reported. The company has issued a recall of all formula products sold nationwide.
ByHeart Inc., the infant formula manufacturer implicated in an ongoing, multistate botulism outbreak, has a history of food safety and hygiene violations at its production facilities, as well as an inadequate root cause analysis in previous incident, per FDA inspection records and warning letters.
As of November 11, 15 infants have been hospitalized with botulism in 12 states after consuming ByHeart-brand powdered infant formula. The 15 infants who were confirmed to have consumed ByHeart are part of a broader outbreak comprising 84 total cases. A recall has been issued.
As part of its ongoing public awareness initiatives, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority has released information detailing common types of food poisoning linked to fish consumption and crucial preventive measures to protect public health.
The owner of the Tchin Tchin Wine Bar in Bordeaux, France has been charged with involuntary homicide after 15 people fell ill and one person died due to botulism caused by contaminated sardine preserves made by the establishment.
During 2006–2021, Canada saw 55 laboratory-confirmed outbreaks of foodborne botulism, according to a recent article published in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
