The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will start collecting data from state and local health departments about infections caused by cronobacter, the pathogen at the center of last year’s infant formula crisis.
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CDC to Begin Monitoring Incidences of Cronobacter, Contaminant Found in Infant Formula
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The new approach comes more than a year after several babies were sickened and two died after drinking formula contaminated with Cronobacter sakazakii. A U.S. plant that manufactured powdered formula shut down temporarily after the illnesses, and millions of units of formula were recalled, triggering a months-long formula shortage across the country.
Cronobacter now joins salmonella and about 120 other illnesses on the list of “nationally notifiable” pathogens, a list jointly managed by the CDC and the CSTE. When a cronobacter infection is identified in an infant less than 1 year old by doctors or laboratories, it will be reported to the state, which then will notify the CDC. Making a disease nationally notifiable results in more patient infections being reported to the CDC, which can help with monitoring disease trends and identifying ways to prevent future illnesses.
The infant formula emergency triggered a cascade of changes in the federal agencies charged with keeping our food supply safe. On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it would elevate the prominence of its food safety program by empowering a single leader to oversee the whole program. Previously, the Office of Regulatory Affairs, which conducts investigations, inspections and imports for all FDA-regulated products, was not overseen by the top food safety official.
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