Hong Kong pharmacies pull Nestle baby milk formula amid recall over toxin risk
Membership of a WhatsApp concern group set up by a few mothers balloons to more than 800 people within hours
Hong Kong pharmacies started pulling batches of Nestle baby milk formula from their shelves on Wednesday after a recall by the manufacturer over potential contamination, prompting frantic searches by thousands of mothers for alternative products.
Nestle Hong Kong apologised to parents for any distress or inconvenience caused, saying that it had not received any reports of illness or discomfort related to the products to date.
Hong Kong food safety authorities said on Tuesday that Nestle had initiated a voluntary precautionary recall of certain batches of formula in parts of Europe, as some raw materials might contain substances derived from the microorganism Bacillus cereus.
On Wednesday afternoon, membership of a WhatsApp concern group set up by a few mothers ballooned to more than 800 people within hours. The most discussed issues were which other brands they should use instead, how to obtain refunds for the recalled products and whether they should keep the formula in question.
Many mothers also complained that they kept calling Nestle’s consumer service hotline for help, but in vain.
Some parents have stockpiled Nestle formula and continue using products from unaffected batches, while others said they would seek refunds from the Swiss food giant.