Zambia is one of the 83 countries that have announced measures to tackle the salmonella baby formula scandal involving French company Lactalis.
In a circular to all Provincial Medical Directors, Health Permanent Secretary Dr Kennedy Malama said Zambia has received urgent notification from the European Commission on the food borne outbreak suspected to be caused by infant formula from France.
Dr Malama said the outbreak involves S. Agona Salmonella epidemic infants less than six months as 20 cases have been reported.
He said the product implicated is Pico infant formula manufactured by Croan Plant in France.
“As a country, we are to withdraw the named product from the market with immediate effect and notify the European Commission of actions taken as a matter of urgency,” Dr Malama’s circular read in part.
He has since directed all Provincial Health Directors to conduct investigations on the availability of this product on the market and withdraw it with immediate effect.
More than 12 million boxes of powdered baby milk have now been recalled in 83 countries in a salmonella scandal involving French company Lactalis.
The dairy firm’s CEO, Emmanuel Besnier, confirmed the extent of the contamination risk to French media this week.
The products have been subject to a recall since December, after salmonella bacteria was discovered at a factory.
Lawsuits have been filed by parents who say their children became unwell after drinking the formula.
A spokesman told the BBC that all the countries affected had been informed, in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa.
The UK, US and Australia were not affected, he added.
The Lactalis group is one of the world’s largest producers of dairy products, with annual sales of €17bn ($21bn; £15bn), It has 246 production sites in 47 countries and employs 15,000 people in France alone.
Recalls have now been issued by the firm three times, and cover its Picot, Milumel and Taranis brands.
In an exclusive interview in French newspaper Journal du Dimache, the Lactalis chief executive denied the firm had attempted to hide the outbreak at the plant.
“There are complaints and there will be an investigation with which we will fully collaborate,” said Mr Besnier.
He also promised the company would compensate any families affected.
The company has said they believe the contamination was caused by renovation work at their Celia factory in Craon, in north-west France.
France’s agriculture minister said products from the factory will be banned indefinitely whilst the investigation is still ongoing.
The French government has warned the company it must expect penalties over its handling of the affair.
They also threatened to impose sanctions against retailers on Thursday, after it emerged that several major supermarket chains had continued to sell products that could have been contaminated.
So far French officials have reported 35 cases of infants getting salmonella from the powder, while one case has been reported in Spain and another is being investigated in Greece.
An association representing victims says the authorities are underestimating the number of cases.
‘There are complaints and there will be an investigation with which we will fully collaborate. We never thought to act otherwise,’ Besnier said.
Created in 1933 by Besnier’s grandfather, Lactalis has become an industry behemoth with annual sales of some 17 billion euros ($20.6 billion), with products including Galbani ricotta and mozzarella in Italy.
With 246 production sites in 47 countries, its list of products also features household names like President butter and Societe roquefort.
Two of those brands, Picot and Milumel baby milk, were the subject of chaotic international recalls issued in mid-December after dozens of children fell sick.
Poisonous or not, I’d never allow my wife to feed these fomular to our baby. Babies are human beings, why give them milk that belongs to Cows?
The rgument I may support but the reasoning behind the argument is not so realistic. People drink cow’s milk everyday
God has given us the ability to create our own industries and feed ourselves.
Most Zambians including our leaders can’t get to understand this. They think they’ve stollen today and all is well, no! What you have stolen is set in motion it is a travelling bullet yet to meet with the citizens to death. Basically you have blood on your hands.
How much can baby food industry cost? Am sure not more that $42 million dollars. Cause Zambia just put up a $500, 000 dried fruit processing plant. Why can we not build a lot more including baby industries?
You go and buy fire engines. We could have constructed over 70 medium industries with that money employing people and taxing those businesses. No?
The money that has been stollen and steal being stolen is not the end… there are…
Con’t – repercussions from that money, people will die and a lot more are going to die for the past stollen money that should be saving g lives now.
Breast feed is the best way to in third world countries
How about producing our own?
We do already its called breast milk
As usual in Zambia!!!! Next you will hear that Zambia has spent so and so much millions of Kwachas just for “withdrawing “poisonous” baby formula from the market”
Am sure the compensation figure will be inflated. We Zambians love easy money
See in the west, Leaders would be slapping those companies with huge fines, let’s see if Lungu shows true leadership on this matter and stands up for Zambia so no investors can try take advantage of our good nature
The milk is imported to Zambia and sold in the major super market chains there is no investor, so why blame the investors the milk was poisoned in the factory in France. its up to the Zambian standards agency to clear it.
It’s shocking that even somebody given an order to supply dust coats prefers importing from South Africa, India or Malaysia to having them tailored in Zambia! GBM as Defense Minister imported the new ZNS uniform from Mauritius. This import manaia will kill us one day. Not so long ago, UNIP sensitized us that the best product was ‘Made in Zambia’and most of us used Saladi and ate Supa Loaf. We know we don’t have the capacity to monitor what gets on to our market, so why go for products we least know about? Multitudes rushed to buy GMO Cornflakes on Black Friday and felt liberated! So what will happen to those mothers who depend on milk? No wonder komboni women that can’t breast feed rely on Super Shake for their infants, they know better
Honestly Zambian’s why buy things you don’t really know,this life style if whating to be seen ati balewina will land us in problems. Yyyyyyy go for a products that have jus come and you give it to your babies whether positive or negative Zambian’s let’s join together so that these things stop coming into our mother land…..Angry citizen. Am out
Typical Zambian lethargy. Why wasn’t the withdrawal done the minute the world was alerted of this poisoned milk??.
If Zambia was a man women would not go to bed with because of too long “foreplay”!!!