Reports have earlier emerged of a decomposed bat found in a packaged salad sold in Florida. Now, a lawsuit filed by a woman from Brooklyn, New York involves another food contamination.
Dead Insects Found In Enfamil Infant Formula
Paulina Rodriguez has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York against Mead Johnson over allegations that she found dead insects in the baby formula sold by the company.
The woman said that her baby had to be brought to the hospital twice after consuming Enfamil infant formula produced by the company.
In the March 7 lawsuit, Rodriguez said that she discovered insects in the infant milk powder four different times since November 2016. The complainant likewise alleges that it is not the first time that dead bugs have been found in the formula and that Mead Johnson failed to address concerns over its product's contamination.
Former Employee Reported Safety Issues In Manufacturing Of Infant Formula
In February, the company was hit by a whistleblower lawsuit by its former employee. Linda O'Risky, who used to work for Mead Johnson as global product compliance director. O'Risky claimed she was fired after raising concerns about packaging defects that make products vulnerable to contamination.
O'Risky, was able to report her concerns through an internal company hotline prior to losing her job. Her complaint states that at the time of her termination, Mead Johnson had not yet addressed the issue of defective and potentially dangerous infant formula products.
"This is a classic case of a diligent employee telling the company something it didn't want to hear, and instead of taking action to fix the actual problem, Mead Johnson tried to make the problem go away by firing the messenger," said Stuart Chanen, of the Valorem Law Group who represents O'Risky.
O'Risky's case appears to be connected to Rodriguez's claims. In the new lawsuit, Rodriguez claimed that she discovered the insects in the Enfamil infant formula she had been giving her child on Thanksgiving Day last year. The incident was captured on video.
Rodriguez later informed the company about the contamination. In response, the company gave Rodriguez two free formula cans and coupons but instructed her to send back the contaminated formula to the company for testing.
"She [Rodriguez] assumed that the can with the insect was anomalous, a mere fluke of chance, and so continued to use Enfamil," the suit states.
Less than a month later, however, sometime between Dec. 18 and Dec. 21, Rodriguez again found insect in the formula she had been giving her daughter.
Child Hospitalized Due To Bacterial Infection Found In Powdered Formula
The 10-month-old child also developed bacterial infection. The complaint claims that the child's illness was due to Chronobacter, a bacteria found in herbal teas, starches, powdered formula and some insect-borne pathogens. Rodriguez again found bugs in the formula twice in January.
The infant formula that Rodriguez purchased was reportedly produced in the same plant where O'Risky used to work.
