More retailers pull formula after Mo. baby death

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Several more national retailers have joined Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in pulling a batch of powdered infant formula from their shelves after a Missouri newborn who consumed it apparently died of a rare bacterial infection, the companies said Friday.

Officials at Supervalu Inc., Walgreen Co., Kroger Co. and Safeway said they have removed 12.5-ounce cans of Enfamil Newborn with the lot number ZP1K7G from various stores across the country as a precaution until federal health officials complete tests on the formula.

Ten-day-old Avery Cornett died Sunday after getting sick several days earlier in the southern Missouri town of Lebanon. Preliminary hospital tests indicated he died of a rare infection caused by bacteria known as Cronobacter sakazakii.

The source of the bacteria that caused the infection hasn't been determined, but it can be found in dried milk and powdered formula as well as naturally in the environment and in plants such as wheat and rice.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we are removing the formula from certain stores," Supervalu spokesman Mike Siemienas said Friday. "We will hold these products from sale until we receive additional guidance from regulatory authorities and the manufacturer."

Retailers under the Supervalu corporate banner that pulled the product include Shaw's, a New England grocer; Shop 'n Save in St. Louis; Jewel-Osco in the Chicago area; Acme supermarkets in New Jersey and Philadelphia; Farm Fresh in Virginia; and some Albertson's in southern California.

Kroger officials said they withdrew the formula from properties in Arizona, Indiana, New Mexico and the mid-Atlantic region. Kroger spokesman Keith Dailey said the company was able to remove most of the questionable batch from its warehouses and distribution centers before they were sent to retail outlets.

Officials with Walgreen Co. did not indicate how many stores were affected, or their locations, while the affected Safeway stores were primarily in the Chicago area, a company spokeswoman said.

Wal-Mart earlier this week announced its decision to pull the product from more than 3,000 stores nationwide. Avery's parents bought their formula from a local Walmart in Lebanon, which is 160 miles southwest of St. Louis along Interstate 44.

A second infant in Missouri fell ill late last month after consuming several different types of powdered baby formula, but that child recovered, health officials said. The state health agency in Illinois, where the child lives, is investigating that case.

"We don't have enough information at this time to connect the two cases," Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman Siobhan Delancey said Friday.

The FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and the Missouri Department of Health are investigating the circumstances surrounding Avery's death. Delancey said test results won't be available until next week.

Investigators have collected samples of both liquid and powdered formula used by Avery's family as well as unopened formula purchased at stores, including the Lebanon Walmart.

The incidents also prompted authorities in an Illinois county east of St. Louis to test for the infection in a 25-day-old infant girl who died Wednesday.

Madison County Coroner Stephen Nonn said a cause of death for the Granite City baby won't be determined until lab tests come back, but an autopsy revealed no physical evidence of infection. The child was born four weeks premature and may have suffered congenital or developmental defects, the coroner said.

Deputy Madison County coroner Roger Smith said the child consumed another type of Enfamil formula than the kind pulled from shelves after the Missouri death.

Formula manufacturer Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. said earlier this week that tests showed the pulled batch was negative for the bacteria before it was shipped. A company spokesman did not respond to several requests for additional comment Friday.

The company told investors it plans to retest saved samples from the recalled batch, but the company did not undertake its own recall.

Wall Street investors reacted warily to the news, with shares of Mead Johnson falling a second straight day Friday amid investor concerns.

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Alan Scher Zagier can be reached at http://twitter.com/azagier