Marler Clark Urges Parents to Stop Using Nara Organics Whole Milk Organic Powdered Infant Formula Amid Multistate Infant Botulism Outbreak -- Product Sold Nationwide at Target

FDA, CDC, and public health officials in California, Pennsylvania, and Washington are investigating; food safety attorney Bill Marler calls it the second formula-linked infant botulism outbreak in seven months and renews his demand that the FDA and the infant formula industry do more.

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, Wash., June 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), working with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention Program (IBTPP), and state and local partners, are investigating a multistate outbreak of infant botulism linked to Nara Organics Whole Milk Organic Powdered Infant Formula. Three infants in California, Pennsylvania, and Washington have been sickened with type A botulinum toxin, with illness onset between April and May 2026. All three were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

On June 13, 2026, Nara Organics agreed to recall all of its Nara Organics-brand Whole Milk Organic Powdered Infant Formula after the FDA recommended a recall based on the severity of the illnesses and the epidemiological signal. According to the FDA, the formula was distributed nationally through Target retail stores, Target.com, and Nara.com between July 2025 and June 2026. The product was manufactured in Europe. Parents and caregivers should stop using it immediately.

What Parents and Caregivers Should Do Now

• Check your pantry. Stop using Nara Organics Whole Milk Organic Powdered Infant Formula immediately.
• Do not throw it away yet. Label the container "DO NOT USE," photograph the label and lot information, and store it safely away from other food for at least one month — your state health department may want to test it.
• Watch for symptoms. Infant botulism often begins with constipation, poor feeding, a weak cry, loss of head control, and difficulty swallowing, and can progress to difficulty breathing. Symptoms can take weeks to appear after the formula is consumed.
• Seek care immediately if your baby shows any of these signs. Botulism can be fatal, and early treatment matters.
• Physicians who suspect infant botulism should call the IBTPP 24/7 at 510-231-7600 for case consultation.
• Wash any items and surfaces that may have touched the formula with hot, soapy water or in a dishwasher.

Statement of William "Bill" Marler

"For the second time in seven months, parents are being told that the powdered formula they trusted to feed their baby may carry the toxin that causes botulism — and once again, the implicated ingredient is whole milk powder, and once again the product was on the shelves at Target. We have been here before. In March 2023, the FDA told this entire industry, in writing and naming Clostridium botulinum, that powdered infant formula had a documented history of botulism and that manufacturers had to control for it. None of this was unforeseeable. It was preventable."

"Three babies are in the hospital. Mercifully, no one has died. But a recall after the fact is not a food safety system — it is a bad apology. After the ByHeart outbreak, the FDA had to send warning letters to Target, Walmart, Kroger, and Albertsons because recalled infant formula was still sitting on store shelves — in some cases restocked and discounted — weeks after the recall began. So, I want to know what has changed. I want to know why we test finished formula for botulism only after babies get sick instead of before a single can ships. And I want to know why, when a baby survives a formula-related illness, the manufacturer is under no obligation to tell the FDA at all."

"My firm represents more than twenty other families whose infants were poisoned in the ByHeart outbreak — the first formula-linked infant botulism outbreak ever recognized. I have spent more than thirty years sitting with parents on the worst day of their lives, and there is nothing abstract about an infant on a ventilator. If you have this formula in your home, stop using it today — but keep the container, because your health department may need it. And if your baby is feeding poorly, can't hold up their head, or seems unusually weak or floppy, do not wait. Call your doctor now."

A Familiar Pattern

This is the second infant formula–linked botulism outbreak in the United States in less than a year. In November 2025, the ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula outbreak sickened 48 infants across 17 states. Whole-genome sequencing tied that outbreak to Clostridium botulinum in organic whole milk powder. In the current Nara Organics outbreak, the implicated product is again a whole-milk powdered formula.

About Infant Botulism

Infant botulism is a rare but serious illness caused when Clostridium botulinum spores are ingested, germinate in an infant's immature gut, and produce a toxin that attacks the nervous system. Diagnosed clinically, it can progress from constipation and poor feeding to muscle weakness, loss of head control, and respiratory failure. Most infants recover with prompt treatment, including the antitoxin BabyBIG® administered through the IBTPP, but recovery can require weeks of hospitalization and intensive care.

Official Resources

• FDA outbreak advisory: Outbreak Investigation of Infant Botulism: Powdered Infant Formula (June 2026)
• CDC food safety alert: Infant Botulism Outbreak — Infant Formula (June 2026)
• Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention Program: infantbotulism.org

About Marler Clark

Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, is the nation's leading law firm representing victims of foodborne illness. Founded by William D. Marler — who began this work with the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak — the firm has represented thousands of victims of E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, botulism, and other foodborne pathogens and has recovered more than $900 million on their behalf. Marler Clark is also the publisher of Food Safety News. The firm can be reached at 1 ((206) 794-5043 or [email protected].

SOURCE Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm