French food giant Danone is probing claims that its new Aptamil baby milk formula has made some infants ill in Britain.
"We have undertaken extensive quality and safety checks, including clinical trials, product testing and product experience tests on these products," said Danone U.K. in a statement, but added that "the results have shown that babies take to this formula well and that it is safe."
Hundreds of British parents have complained on Aptamil's Facebook page that recent changes to the recipe of its certain baby milk formulas have made their children sick, the BBC reported Monday.
Several mothers have told the BBC that their babies experienced upset stomachs after they started using the new version of Aptamil First Infant Milk powder (stage 1).
The parents also said they noticed that the milk powder does not dissolve easily and smells differently like "gone-off milk."
"We have updated the mixing instructions on our packs as this new formula requires parents to mix it up slightly differently, compared to the previous formulation - specifically, shaking vigorously for 10 seconds to dissolve the powder," Danone U.K. explained.
Aptamil had changed the recipes of three products: Aptamil First Infant Milk powder (stage 1), Aptamil Follow On Milk powder (stage 2) and Aptamil Growing Up Milk powders (stages 3 and 4).
Besides formula changes, the size of the products have been reduced from 900 grams to 800 grams a can, while the price remains roughly the same.
While the company is investigating the complaints, it has set up a free helpline for parents to call for advice.
Danone shares dropped 2 percent on Monday on the Paris bourse.
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