A first suspicious death, mentioned without specific location on January 20, 2026 by one of the services of the Ministry of Health which launched health investigations, concerns a baby born on December 25 and died on January 8 at the Haut Lévêque hospital in Pessac, in the suburbs of Bordeaux. "Once discharged from the maternity ward, the infant was notably fed, between January 5 and 7, 2026, with Guigoz brand artificial milk which had been recalled due to possible contamination by Bacillus Cereus bacteria," Renaud Gaudeul, the public prosecutor in Bordeaux, told AFP.
In Angers, "two days ago"The mother of a 27-day-old baby girl who died on December 23 contacted investigators again to mention a box of Guigoz milk previously given to her baby, the city prosecutor, Eric Brouillard, indicated Thursday evening. "This is a serious lead." but he is "Far too early to say that this is the main lead."Mr. Brouillard, who seized "urgently" a laboratory.
"The connection between the two things has not been established; that's what the investigation will determine."
On January 5, 2026, Nestlé, the Swiss food giant, initiated a large-scale recall of Guigoz and Nidal brand infant formula due to the potential presence of "cereulid" in these otherwise highly regulated products. This toxic component, produced under certain conditions by a family of bacteria, the Bacillus cereusIt can cause significant vomiting within hours of consumption.
In Bordeaux, the baby victim was rushed to the hospital on January 7th. "The mother having noticed digestive problems in the child"According to prosecutor Renaud Gaudeul, the initial results of analyses conducted as part of the investigation are in. "have established the absence of contamination by the Bacillus Cereus bacterium", but "further analyses" tests were requested to find the cereulide toxin, added Mr. Gaudeul later that evening.
The results of these new analyses, "longer", "are not yet known"he specified. "At this stage, no causal link has been established between the consumption of the infant formulas in question and the occurrence of symptoms in infants," they argued.
"The connection between the two things has not been established; that's what the investigation will determine."Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard, who was visiting the Manche region, confirmed that she was following the matter closely. "With extreme vigilance." "It is the responsibility of companies to carry out checks and recall contaminated batches."she insisted.
Approximately sixty countries are affected.
The recall initiated by Nestlé affects some sixty countries, including France, and the head of the Swiss giant, Philipp Navratil, apologized in mid-January, as the group is accused by some NGOs of having been slow to take action. On January 21, the French group Lactalis also... announced a large recall of infant formula in several countries, including France, China, Australia and Mexico.
According to the Ministries of Agriculture and Health, this withdrawal, like that of Nestlé, is linked to an ingredient suspected of being the source of the contamination. "An oil rich in arachidonic acid, beneficial for the proper development of babies, produced by a Chinese supplier."
"To date, all infant formula manufacturers worldwide, having used arachidonic acid-rich oil from this supplier, must conduct a risk analysis to assess the safety of each batch."they added. The NGO Foodwatch announced it would file a complaint against persons unknown for "to shed light" regarding these reminders, stating that "Millions of infants worldwide were affected."
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