Company quietly trashes baby formula contaminated with metal flakes
Following discovery of production line error, Osem Nestle destroys thousands of Materna milk substitute products, doesn’t tell public
Osem Nestle destroyed over 10,000 units of milk substitute produced by its baby food brand Materna over a food safety scare last month, Israeli news outlets reported Sunday.
The products in question, which were produced in April, were destroyed after bits of metal were found in them.
Osem Nestle, a major Israeli processor owned by the Swiss food giant, did not inform the public of the existence of the contaminated food.
The revelation comes after several months in which a number of Israeli food companies have issued recalls over food safety issues, following a scandal that erupted over a cereal manufacturer failing to report a possible salmonella outbreak.
Thousands of Materna products began to be destroyed in late August following a mechanical error on its production line that had occurred a few months before, the Ynet news website reported.
Materna said in a statement that it “places the quality of its products and the health of babies above all else, and therefore it was decided for the sake of caution and in coordination with the Health Ministry to destroy the products that were produced before the problem was fixed.”
MK Rachel Azaria (Kulanu) said in response to the discovery that the problem was partially a result of lack of competition in the Israeli market and called for reforms to allow more companies to produce milk substitutes.
The revelation of the contaminated Materna products comes just a few months after the discovery of salmonella in cereal made by Unilever’s Telma and in tahini made by Prince Tahina, leading to an uproar over food safety standards among the Israeli public.
Both companies were forced to temporarily halt production by the Health Ministry in light of the discovery of salmonella in their products to ensure that they met the ministry’s health standards, but resumed production shortly thereafter after addressing the issues the ministry raised.
A number of other food companies also issued recalls in the wake of the incidents.
The Times of Israel Community.