I Don’t Want You Spiraling Over Formula Recalls...

There are certain headlines that make a parent's stomach drop.

A formula recall is one of them.

Feeding is already so emotional. You pick a formula, you read the labels, you make the bottle in the dark at 3am, and underneath all of it is this quiet trust that what you're giving your baby is safe. So when a recall lands on infant formula, and the word botulism is attached to it, it hits a different nerve than most headlines do.

Here is what I want you to know first: if you have Nara Organics powdered infant formula at home, stop using it now.

Nara has voluntarily recalled all lots of its Whole Milk Powdered Infant Formula because of a potential risk of Clostridium botulinum, the bacteria that can cause infant botulism. It's a rare but serious illness in babies.

Because this is an active investigation, more information may come out in the days ahead. I’ll keep this newsletter updated if guidance changes or if health officials share new details.

For now, this is what we know, what parents should watch for, and the safest next steps to take today.

What's included, and what to do with it

First, the why. In early June, health officials contacted Nara about three infants who developed infant botulism after drinking its formula, in California, Washington, and Pennsylvania. All three were hospitalized and treated, and no deaths have been reported.

As of now, Nara formula has not tested positive for the bacteria. But the company recalled all products currently on the market anyway, because three sick babies and a possible common source is more than enough reason to act before waiting on proof.

That is the piece I keep coming back to. A recall before confirmation does not mean the system is breaking down. It can mean the system is moving carefully, early, and with babies' safety ahead of everything else.

Now, the practical part. The recall includes all lots of Nara Organics powdered infant formula currently on the market:

• Nara Organics Whole Milk Infant Formula, 700g, UPC 860013251901

• Nara Organics Whole Milk Infant Formula, 400g, UPC 860013251918

These were sold nationally through Target stores, Target.com, and Nara.com between July 2025 and June 2026.

The lot code is printed on the bottom of the can. But here's the important part: if you have Nara Organics powdered formula at home, set it aside now. You do not need to sit there with a can in one hand and a list of lot numbers in the other, trying to decide whether yours "really counts." All lots on the market are included.

If the can is unopened, follow the refund or return instructions from Nara or Target. You may still want to take a photo of the bottom of the can first, so you have the lot code and use-by date saved.

If the can is opened, take a photo of the bottom first, including the lot code and use-by date. Then label it clearly with "DO NOT USE" and store it somewhere safe and far away from anything you use to feed your baby.

I know that feels backwards. Our instinct with recalled food is usually to throw it out immediately. But with an active investigation, holding onto an opened container for now may be helpful if health officials request testing later.

Infant botulism: your questions, answered

The word botulism is scary. I won’t pretend otherwise. But a lot of that fear comes from not knowing what it actually is, so let’s take it piece by piece.

Infant botulism is caused by Clostridium botulinum, a bacteria that produces a toxin affecting the nervous system. It’s extremely uncommon, but when it happens, it can make babies very weak and affect their ability to feed or move normally. And while babies under one year can be affected, the risk is highest in younger infants because their digestive systems are still immature. As babies get older, their gut matures and the risk drops a lot.

Infant botulism tends to come on slowly, over days, and the early signs can look like other things, which is what makes context, like recent Nara formula use, matter so much.

Watch for:

• Constipation, often an early sign

• Weak sucking or poor feeding

• More drooling than usual

• Floppiness or trouble holding their head up

• A weaker or different-sounding cry

• Moving less than normal

• Drooping eyelids or decreased facial expression

• Trouble swallowing

• Any difficulty breathing

If your baby drank Nara formula and shows any of these symptoms, get medical care right away. Breathing trouble, floppiness, poor feeding, loss of head control, trouble swallowing, or decreased facial expression especially should be treated as urgent. Do not wait it out.

Not right away. With infant botulism, illness can start anywhere from a few days to a few weeks after exposure. That is why the guidance is to keep an eye on your baby for about a month after their last bottle of Nara formula, and to hold onto an opened can during that window.

No, and I mean that. If your baby is feeding well, alert, and moving normally, that is genuinely reassuring.

Here is something important that gets lost in the fear: even if spores were in a product, most babies who are exposed would not necessarily get sick. The illness only happens if the spores take hold and release toxin in the gut, and that is rare. Exposure is not the same as illness.

So watch for the symptoms above for about a month, keep your opened can labeled and stored, and otherwise carry on. Staying observant is the job here, not bracing for the worst.

No, Botulism does not pass from person to person. A baby can only get infant botulism by swallowing the spores directly. Other children around your baby are not at risk from your baby.

Treatment involves an antitoxin called BabyBIG (Botulism Immune Globulin Intravenous (Human) (BIG-IV)), which helps stop the toxin from causing further nerve damage. Most babies who receive timely treatment recover fully, though it can take weeks or months for strength and feeding to return to normal. Early recognition and treatment are key to recovery.

If this is bringing up more questions about infant botulism, we covered many of them during the previous infant formula recall newsletter, including symptoms, timing, treatment, and formula safety.

And I know part of why this feels so heavy is because this is not the first formula recall parents have heard about recently.

We had a similar wave of concern with the previous ByHeart formula recall, which also involved an infant botulism investigation. Different brand and investigation, but for parents, the emotional effect is similar: another headline, another formula, another reason to wonder whether the thing feeding your baby can be trusted.

That is exactly why I want to zoom out for a moment.

“Wait, is formula even safe anymore?”

If it feels like formula recalls keep happening, you are not imagining how heavy that feels. When it is the food your baby depends on, every headline lands harder.

So let me give you the honest, bigger picture.

Formula in the U.S. is one of the most closely regulated foods we have. The FDA sets rules around nutrition, labeling, manufacturing, and safety. None of this makes contamination impossible, but it does make serious problems genuinely rare.

Here is the part that is easy to miss when you are anxious: a recall is not automatically proof the system is broken. Often, it is a sign that the system is responding. The point of oversight is to catch a possible problem and pull product quickly, sometimes before everything has been confirmed, because waiting for perfect proof can mean waiting too long.

That appears to be what is happening here.

It also helps to understand why this kind of contamination is unusual in the first place.

Powdered formula is not sterile. It cannot be treated the same way ready-to-feed liquid formula is. Powdered formula is made by drying milk and nutrients into powder, and trace amounts of bacteria from the environment can occasionally get into dry foods. That is true across powdered formulas.

What keeps risk low is the combination of manufacturing safeguards, testing, recalls when needed, and safe preparation at home.

If your baby was drinking Nara Organics powdered infant formula, you will need to switch to another infant formula now. For most healthy, full-term babies, another standard cow’s milk-based infant formula will meet their nutritional needs. If your baby was born prematurely, has a medical condition, uses a specialty formula, or has a known allergy or intolerance, call your pediatrician for guidance on the best replacement.

Please do not use homemade formula, cow’s milk, goat’s milk, toddler formula, or plant-based milks as a replacement for an infant under one year unless your child’s clinician gives you specific instructions. Those do not meet an infant’s nutritional needs and can cause serious health problems.

Formula labels can make parents feel like they need to find the perfect match overnight. In reality, most standard infant formulas are more similar than they are different when it comes to meeting your baby’s core nutrition needs.

For more help choosing a formula, check out this PedsDocTalk YouTube video: What Baby Formula Should My Baby Use?. And watch this one on reading formula labels to find a comparable option for you. 

And because safe preparation matters too, for a refresher on preparing, storing, and traveling with formula, I walk through it step by step in this PedsDocTalk YouTube video: How Do I Make and Store Baby Formula?

One more thing worth saying plainly: no formula is 100% risk-free, because nothing we feed anyone is. The goal was never zero risk, because zero risk is not possible. The goal is keeping risk extremely low. Between regulation, testing, fast recalls, and careful prep at home, that is what the system is built to do.

Before you go

I want to talk about the part that doesn't show up in the recall notice. How this feels.

If you're anxious, angry, second-guessing yourself, or quietly wondering if you did something wrong, none of that is an overreaction. You chose this formula on purpose. You probably researched it, compared it, felt good about it. Having that trust shaken overnight can feel like emotional whiplash, and it is allowed to sting.

So let me say the thing plainly: this is not your fault. You fed your baby with care, using the information you had. A recall is something that happened to you, not something you caused.

I formula-fed my son Ryaan, and I know how much thought goes into these decisions, how much love is wrapped up in a choice most people never see. That love doesn't disappear because of a headline. Switching formulas right now isn't a failure or a setback. It's you protecting your baby, which is the same thing you were doing all along.

If the guilt around formula feeding runs deeper than this one recall, I get into where that comes from on the PedsDocTalk Podcast episode: How Formula-Shaming Has Led to Overwhelming Guilt for New Moms. It's worth a listen if this stirred something up. 

Ask Dr. Mona

An opportunity for YOU to ask Dr. Mona your parenting questions!

Dr. Mona will answer these questions in a future Sunday Morning Q&A email. Chances are if you have a parenting concern or question, another parent can relate. So let's figure this out together!