AN EXTENSIVE survey of baby foods has found they contain worrying levels of disease-causing microbes. Of most concern was the presence of a bacterium called Enterobacter sakazakii, which has been linked to a handful of fatal outbreaks of meningitis at children’s hospitals in the US and Europe.
The meningitis-causing bug has been found in powdered infant formula before, but this study is the first to detect it in dried infant food. Although there are only a few cases each year, the death rate from infection can be as high as one-third.
Premature babies and those with a weakened immune system…
