A man gave his baby Aptamil Ready to Feed Infant Formula he had bought from a branch of Dunnes Stores, in Ireland, and when the child began to be sick he realised the food was “discoloured”
A newborn baby became sick and was rushed to hospital after being given baby food nearly nine years out of date.
The child was given the food two days after it was bought by their dad, in a sterile bottle that the formula was prepared in. However, the dad became concerned when the baby became sick and refused to drink any more. When the man then checked the bottle he found that the formula was “discoloured” and the expiry date was June 9, 2015, a district court in Navan, Republic of Ireland, heard.
The five-week-old baby was given around 50ml to 60ml of the Aptamil Ready to Feed Infant Formula that was bought at a branch of Dunnes Stores in Navan, last February. Another bottle bought at the same time had a best before date of February 3 2024, meaning it was five days out of date.
The baby was taken to Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan and later transferred to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. The child did not require further treatment but was kept overnight for observation. A total of 13 bottles of the Aptamil formula had been bought for the child at the Trimgate Street Dunnes Stores in Co Meath last February.
A doctor contacted the Navan branch of Dunnes Stores to inform them of what had happened, and on February 14 last year a senior environmental health officer spoke to the shop’s deputy store manager. Eight more bottles with short best before dates were removed from the store’s shelves.
The incident came to light on Friday, when Dunnes Stores admitted one count of failing to report that food it had put on sale could be dangerous. Dunnes Stores Unlimited was prosecuted by the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) for breaches of European food safety laws over selling an out of date product.
The retail giant, with its headquarters in Dublin, pleaded guilty and Brian Gageby BL, defending, reportedly said it was an unusual case with it being a “mystery” to his clients how the bottle of infant formula had been on the shelf for nearly a decade.
He stated that regular three-month stock takes were carried out on baby food, where products with a shelf life shorter than four weeks would be removed, reported the Metro. Dunnes Stores took the matter extremely seriously, counsel said, and stock checks on baby food products are now undertaken monthly.
Mr Gageby said that HSE and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) should have been told immediately, but said the case “fell through the cracks”. Dunnes Stores has 118 stores in the Republic of Ireland and employs around 17,000 people.
Dunnes Stores agreed to pay costs, including more than 8,000 euros (£6,770) in legal costs and more than 23,000 euros (£19,450) in investigation fees. Company secretary Tom Sheridan was present in court and Mr Gageby said they were prepared to make a sizeable contribution to charity.
Dunnes Stores was directed to pay 10,000 euros (£8,460) to charity, split between Barnardos, Foróige, and MCDAR, and cover over 33,000 euros (£27,900) in legal and investigative costs. The case will appear again in court in four weeks, to ensure donations and costs have been paid.
