Nestlé Defends SMA Recipe Change After 12,000 Sign Petition

Nestlé have assured customers that their new recipe SMA baby formula is safe, after a concerned mum called for the product to be banned.  Catt Taylor started an online campaign against the formula manufacturers after her 10-month-old daughter Alayah allegedly became ill when the ingredients were changed. The mum (20) said she had been using SMA Gold formula since her baby girl was born without incident when, about one month ago, she noticed that the packaging had changed and contents had been reduced by 100g. Ms Taylor, from Workington in the UK, claims that her little girl soon became ill and while she initially blamed teething, an emergency call from the creche changed her mind:

"She had became limp, lifeless and had a rocketing temp of 40 degrees. With the advice of the Doctor I took her straight to A&E," says the horrified mum.

After countless tests, doctors were at a loss as to what was making the child so ill. While she was allowed to go home, the distraught mum claims she was still screaming in pain every time she ate. Then, Ms. Taylor made a discovery:

'Yesterday I noticed something after purchasing a tub of SMA and doing some research, they had changed the ingredients.' I rang CHOC last night and explained my findings, a GP rang me within 20 minutes and told me stop giving her the milk immediately.'

On her doctor's advice, the mum switched to another formula and says the effect was instant:

'...what a change in 17 hours. She is sleeping, she's eating, her diarrhoea has pretty much gone! She's our little girl again.'

According to Nestlé, SMA^® PRO was launched in January of this year, replacing the existing SMA First Infant Milk, SMA Follow-on Milk, SMA Toddler Milk 900g powder products and First Infant Starter Pack. The new formula now features added GOS/FOS (Galacto- and Fructo-oligosarccharides), which are also known as non-digestible fibres. The level of Omega 3 & 6 has also changed and these are now derived from fish oil, in line with other formulas in the UK. The SMA website warns "A change in stool consistency/frequency can sometimes happen when infants are swapping from a formula which does not contain GOS/FOS to one that does," but states that this is perfectly normal. In the wake of the controversy, the company has confirmed that, even though they have received complaints from customers regarding the new formula, “all of the evidence shows it is a safe product”. Meanwhile, a petition started by Catt Taylor has received more than 12,000 signatures.