Infant formula caution issued by CFIA due to possible tampering
If the internal security seal has been broken, don't consume the product
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is warning about possible tampering or substitution of infant formula products.
Fred Jamieson, CFIA's food safety retail specialist, said they've had four complaints so far. Three came from Ontario — Alliston, Orillia and Toronto — and one from Surrey, B.C.
"It was substituted in some cases with another product, maybe of a less[er] quality, less expensive," he said. "So if someone was to buy product A and they actually may have got product B."
In one case, the tamper-proof seal had been removed.
"The product itself wasn't replaced with any other ... commodity, as much as that they substituted different brands or different varieties of the same type of product in with the case so we knew that that was a concern."
The complaints came in over the last several weeks, with the most recent two coming on Monday.
No illnesses have been associated with these complaints.
Jamieson said the issue is likely happening at the retail level. "If there's 12 cans, make sure there's 12 cans of the same product, same codes," he said.
People should also check the security seal, he said.
Jamieson urged people to return products that appeared to be tampered with to retailers or to contact the company if there's concern that the product isn't what they purchased.
CFIA says such incidents do not usually happen during the manufacturing process. Occasionally, however, a consumer returns altered products to the store for a refund.
"Infant formula products have been found where the outer cases and containers are intact, but the product inside may have the tamper-proof seal broken and may contain a different product (brand and/or variety)," says a notice on CFIA's website.