Jan 29, 2026, 1:23 p.mJan 29, 2026, 1:23 p.m
The Chinese company Cabio Biotech has found itself at the center of an international investigation into contaminated infant formula.
Authorities are investigating whether the poison cereulide found its way into several brands of milk powder via a raw material from the Wuhan company.
This is what you need to know about it.
What is it about?
Food giants like Nestlé and Danone as well as smaller baby milk suppliers like Hochdorf find themselves in a maelstrom of product recalls in over 60 countries around the world. Authorities are also investigating whether toxic baby food from Nestlé may have caused two deaths in France at the end of December and beginning of January and made a child sick in Belgium. However, the authorities have so far emphasized that a causal connection between the consumption of baby milk and cases of death or illness has not been proven.
Why is the focus on Cabio Biotech?
The recalls are due to a risk of contamination with cereulide – a toxin produced by certain bacteria. This can lead to vomiting diarrhea within less than an hour. The cereulide contamination was likely due to the use of an oil rich in arachidonic acid (ARA) – a source of omega-6 that promotes brain development – and was an ingredient in the affected products. Authorities and sources familiar with the case identified Cabio Biotech as a supplier to a number of the affected manufacturers. According to the consumer protection organization Foodwatch, Cabio Biotech is one of the few suppliers of arachidonic acid in the world. The share price of Cabio Biotech fell significantly in China at the beginning of January following the recalls initiated by Nestlé.
Who is Cabio Biotech?
Founded in 2004, Cabio Biotech is considered one of the leading manufacturers of arachidonic acid products, according to company filings. ARA is an omega-6 fatty acid considered important for brain and nervous system development in infants and is used in numerous baby foods, dairy products and dietary supplements. Cabio offers the ARA, produced through fungal fermentation, both as an oil and as a microencapsulated powder. There are only a handful of competitors, including the Swiss-Dutch chemical company DSM-Firmenich and Guangdong Runke Bioengineering from China. Cabio Biotech is based in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. This came into international focus during the coronavirus pandemic. The first known infections with the new virus, which led to the global pandemic in 2020, were registered there in 2019.
What does Cabio Biotech say?
Cabio Biotech has not yet publicly commented on possible contamination of the affected oil. In China, this brings back memories of a sensational scandal in 2008 in which infant milk powder was contaminated. Six babies died and 300,000 became ill – some with serious kidney complications. The case had a lasting impact on consumers. They increasingly turned to foreign products.
Are there no controls?
According to the laboratory group Eurofins, infant formulas are actually subject to particularly strict controls. Although bacteria are routinely searched for, cereulide – a toxin produced by certain strains of the bacterium Bacillus cereus – is not normally part of the standard tests. The Swiss testing group SGS classifies Cereulide as a growing risk. It was said that it could remain in the end product even after normal processing processes. Due to its high toxicity even in small quantities, cereulide is the focus of authorities and industry, particularly in infant and baby food, rice and ready meals, milk powder, high-fat ingredients such as special oils and generally in powdered and highly processed foods.
How did Nestlé react?
Nestlé recalled several batches of baby food products in around 60 countries.Image: nestlé
Nestlé recognized the problem with its own quality and safety protocols. The company identified the source of the contamination and informed the relevant trade associations and authorities so that other manufacturers could also be informed. The company recalled several batches of baby food products in around 60 countries. Nestlé also stopped deliveries from the affected ARA oil supplier. The group also announced systematic tests of all ARA oil batches from other suppliers for cereulide as well as controls during and after production. (sda/awp)