Canada issues warning about infant food tampering

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has issued a warning regarding possible tampering or products substitution of infant formula products.

CBC News quoted CFIA food safety retail specialist, Fred Jamieson, who confirmed that the agency had received four complaints so far, out of which three were from Alliston, Orillia and Toronto, Ontario, and one from Surrey.

The agency said in a statement: "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).

"Consumers using infant formulas should examine the containers to ensure that the security seal is intact and has not been altered or the product substituted. If you have product that appears to have been altered, do not use or consume it."

The agency has been receiving complaints over the past few weeks with the latest coming in on Monday.

However, none of the complainants have reported of any illnesses.

In its statement, CFIA said that such incidents were not associated with the manufacturing process normally, but occurred when a consumer returned altered products to the retail store for a refund.

Jamieson said that it was possible that the tampering was happening at the level of retail and has urged people to check the security seal and return the products in case they appear tampered.

"If there’s 12 cans, make sure there’s 12 cans of the same product, same codes," he said.

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Image: CFIA has received four complaints about infant food tampering. Photo: courtesy of Jomphong.