S-26 Original Progress Formula “safe for consumption”, tests show
Infant formula manufacturer Aspen Nutritionals has announced it has received test results for its investigation of S-26 Original Progress formula, batch 40727482A2, showing that the product is safe for consumption.
Aspen Nutritionals said the report from the manufacturing plant states that the batch passed all chemical, physical, microbiological (including pathogens) and sensory specifications at the time it was released into the market. The Company said there was “no safety concern for this batch” and that it is therefore “safe for consumption”. The NSW Food Authority has completed microbiological testing of a sample of cans in Australia from S-26 Original Progress, batch 40727482A2, and found no contamination in the sample.
Australian Food News reported in July 2014 that Aspen Nutritionals had voluntarily withdrawn from sale batch number 40727482A2 of its S-26 Original Progress infant formula after a consumer reported finding a lizard in a tin of the product.
The NSW Food Authority has advised a herpetologist (an expert in reptiles) from the Australian Museum has confirmed the lizard was a Hemidactylus frenatus, commonly known as the “common house gecko”. The species originated in Asia but is also found in numerous countries around the world including tropical and sub-tropical Australia.
Aspen Nutritionals said it could not determine conclusively how and where the lizard entered the can. The Company said it had only received one complaint of this nature for this batch and believed it was an isolated incident. The Company apologised for any inconvenience caused by the withdrawal of the product from sale.
