Recalled baby formula still sold by Walmart, Kroger, Target, others, FDA says

David J. Neal, Miami Herald on Nov 23, 2025

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As the number of children in the infant botulism continues to rise, the company manufacturing the recalled formula admits third-party testing found botulism in its formula.

And, the FDA says, some of the nation’s largest grocery sellers, including No. 1 Walmart and No. 2 Kroger, are still selling ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula.

Here’s an update on the recall and the outbreak.

Who’s still selling ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula?

Back on Nov. 11, after the FDA informed ByHeart that infant botulism sickened two more babies, ByHeart expanded its recall of its Whole Nutrition Infant Formula from two lots to an everybody-out-of-the-pool recall involving all lots sold by all retailers.

That included Walmart, Publix, Meijer, Kroger and Kroger-owned chains, as well as Amazon.com. The FDA’s Thursday update said through Amazon sales, the formula went to Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Israel, Jamaica, Peru, the Virgin Islands, Brunei, China, Egypt, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Romania, Singapore, South Africa and Thailand.

But, that also said the FDA “has received reports that recalled formula is still being found on store shelves in multiple states, including at multiple Walmart, Target, and Kroger locations, and at one or more Sprouts Organic Market, Safeway, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, and Star Market locations.”

If you have the formula in your home and have been giving it to your child, the CDC has some suggestions for you beyond stop using it right now.

“Take a photo or record the information on the bottom of the package,”

—“Keep the container in a safe spot and label it as ‘DO NOT USE.’ If your child develops symptoms your state health department might want to collect your formula container for testing.”

—If your kid doesn’t develop symptoms after 30 days, toss the containers.”

ByHeart admits to botulism in the formula

Even as it recalled the formula en masse and the state of California said it had found botulism in the formula, ByHeart insisted, “neither we, nor the FDA nor the CDC, have found clostridium botulinum spores or toxins in any unopened can of ByHeart formula.”

That’s no longer the case.

“After the FDA informed us of the infant botulism outbreak on November 7, we immediately partnered with IEH Laboratories & Consulting Group, a global leader in Food Safety testing, to test cans of ByHeart formula, and conducted a nationwide recall,” ByHeart now admits on its website. “We have just learned that those tests identified Clostridium botulinum in some samples of ByHeart formula.

“We immediately notified the FDA of those findings, and we are working to investigate the facts, conduct ongoing testing to identify the source, and ensure this does not happen to families again.”

In 2022, ByHeart recalled five batches of Whole Nutrition Infant Formula on concerns of cronobacter contamination.

Update on sick kids and lawsuits

As of Thursday’s CDC update, the sick child count has risen by eight to 31, all of whom have been hospitalized.

Those kids are spread over 15 states. Texas has the most illnesses, six. California has four. Arizona and Oregon have three each. North Carolina, Washington, Minnesota and Illinois have two each. Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey and Rhode Island each have one child with infant botulism.

Symptoms of infant botulism, which can take weeks to emerge, include poor feeding, difficulty swallowing, loss of head control and less expressiveness in the face.

At least three lawsuits have been filed against ByHeart on behalf of families in Eatonville, Washington; Richmond, Kentucky; and Flagstaff, Arizona.

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