Feb. 18, 2022. Reno/Sparks, NV – Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a recall for Similac, Alimentum, or EleCare powdered infant formulas after investigations of four consumer complaints of infant illness related to products from Abbott Nutrition’s Sturgis, MI facility.
Washoe County Health District (WCHD) Woman, Infant and Children (WIC) program has received many calls from concerned clients with questions regarding the recall. To assist these clients, the WIC program is offering the following tips for clients who may have received the recalled formula with WIC benefits:
- Check the FDA notice and product codes to see if your infant’s formula has been recalled.
- If you’re having trouble identifying if the formula is affected by this recall: visit similacrecall.com or call 1-800-986-8540 (Abbott Manufacturer).
- Return the product to the store where it was purchased and obtain unaffected formula. Please do not return formula to WIC clinic locations.
- Check stores to see if they have unaffected formula and ask if they can exchange affected formula for safe formula. Stores may or may not do exchanges. It is still unclear how exchanges will work, but we will provide more information as it becomes available.
- If a particular store doesn’t have unaffected formula, and you haven’t used monthly benefits WIC participants can use benefits at any WIC approved vendor: https://nevadawic.org/stores/
- Parents should continue feeding infants using a safe formula preparation and not use homemade formula.
“We understand parents are concerned about this recall,” said Lisa Lottritz, Division Director of Community and Clinical Health Services. “Currently, there is little information about how exchanges will work and how individual client accounts will be credited. We are working with the State WIC office to obtain more information about this recall to provide our clients.”
WIC clients are encouraged to check WCHD’s website for updated information about this recall as it becomes available. Please be aware WIC staff will not be available to answer questions from Friday at 4:30 pm until Tuesday morning at 8 am. due to the holiday weekend. Below is the list of products that Abbott has confirmed are affected and potentially affected.
Affected (only produced in Sturgis, MI):
- 6 oz Total Comfort powder
- 5 oz Similac for Spit Up powder
- All EleCare* powder Infant and Jr
- All Alimentum* powder
Partially Affected (produced in Sturgis, MI as well as other plants)
- 5 oz Similac Sensitive powder
- 4 oz Similac Advance powder
Not Affected (not produced at Sturgis, MI plant)
- Isomil
- NeoSure
- All concentrated liquids and ready to feeds
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The Washoe County Health District is nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board and has jurisdiction over all public health matters in Reno, Sparks, and Washoe County through the policy-making Washoe County District Board of Health. The District consists of five divisions: Administrative Health Services, Air Quality Management, Community and Clinical Health Services, Environmental Health Services and Epidemiology & Public Health Preparedness. More info can be found here.