ByHeart Infant Botulism Cases Jump to 37 in 17 States – International Warnings

We have been retained by 27 families whose infants consumed ByHeart formula. Some of these infants became ill in late 2024 and early to mid 2025.

The FDA and CDC, in collaboration with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention Program (IBTPP), and other state and local partners, continue to investigate a multistate outbreak of infant botulism. Epidemiologic and laboratory data show that ByHeart Whole Nutrition infant formula might be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, which is causing infant illness in multiple regions of the country.

As of November 26, 2025, a total of 37 infants with suspected or confirmed infant botulism and confirmed exposure to ByHeart Whole Nutrition infant formula (various lots) have been reported from 17 states – AZ, CA, ID, IL, KY, MA, ME, MI, MN, NC, NJ, OR, PA, RI, TX, WA, WI. Laboratory confirmation for some cases is ongoing. For 36 cases with illness onset information available, illnesses started on dates ranging from August 9 to November 19, 2025. All 37 infants were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported to date. For 35 infants with age and sex information available, they range in age from 16 to 264 days and 15 (43%) are female. 

State and local public health officials are interviewing caregivers about the foods the infants were fed in the month before they got sick. Thirty-seven infants have been identified that were fed ByHeart Whole Nutrition powdered infant formula before getting sick.

FDA has received reports that recalled formula is still being found on store shelves in multiple states, including at multiple Walmart, Target, and Kroger locations, and at one or more Sprouts Organic Market, Safeway, Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Star Market, Smith’s, King Sooper’s, Albertson’s, Whole Foods, Wegman’s, and Publix locations. FDA is working with state partners and retailers to ensure an effective recall and immediate removal of these products from store shelves across the country. All ByHeart infant formula products have been recalled, and these products should not be available for sale in stores or online. This includes all formula cans and single-serve “anywhere pack” sticks.

Additional testing by ByHeart, FDA, CDC, and state partners is underway, and results are expected in the coming weeks.

FDA’s investigation, including onsite inspections, is ongoing to determine the point of contamination. FDA is releasing the FDA Establishment Inspection Reports (EIRs) and FDA Form 483s, Inspectional Observations from completed inspections previously conducted between 2022 and March 2025 at ByHeart facilities. ByHeart, Inc. is the parent company of three Blendhouse manufacturing facilities in Allerton, Iowa; Portland, Oregon; and Reading, Pennsylvania.

• Blendhouse Allerton: the facility was last inspected in February 2025 and classified Voluntary Action Indicated (VAI), which cited GMP deficiencies
• Blendhouse Portland: the facility was last inspected in March 2025 and classified No Action Indicated (NAI)
• Blendhouse Reading: the facility was last inspected in January 2024 and classified Official Action Indicated (OAI). This facility has not been in operation since September 2023. 

FDA’s investigation is ongoing to determine the point of contamination. This advisory will be updated as information becomes available.

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Case Count Map Provided by CDC

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Case Counts

Total Illnesses: 37 (6 New)
Hospitalizations: 37 (6 New)
Deaths: 0
Last Illness Onset: November 19, 2025
States with Cases: AZ, CA, ID, IL, KY, MA, ME, MI, MN, NC, NJ, OR, PA, RI, TX, WA, WI
Product Distribution: Online and nationwide (including Guam and Puerto Rico), and internationally

Useful Links

• CDC Outbreak Advisory
• Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention Program
• ByHeart Expanded Recall Announcement
• Food Safety Tips for Retailers and Consumers During an Outbreak
• Food Safety Resources for Produce Shippers and Carriers During a Foodborne Illness Outbreak

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Product Images

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Sample Results

Product sampling and testing is being conducted by FDA, CDC, state partners, and ByHeart. Available information on positive samples is included below. This table will be updated as additional results become available or are shared with FDA.

Due to the large number of samples, only positive results are being reported here. The detection of Clostridium botulinum in infant formula is complex, and a negative test result does not rule out the presence of the bacteria in the product.

Parents and caregivers should not use any ByHeart infant formula, regardless of test results.

Sample Collected/Analyzed by	Product	Test Result	Toxin Type
CDPH	ByHeart Infant Formula Can (Batch No. 251131P2)	Positive	Type A
ByHeart	ByHeart Infant Formula (Batch/Batches Not Reported)	Positive	Type A

International Distribution

The ByHeart infant formula recall impacts markets outside the United States. Customer information provided by Amazon shows that a limited quantity of recalled ByHeart infant formula was distributed to Argentina, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Hong Kong, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Republic of Korea, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, and the British Virgin Islands.

Consumers worldwide should not use any ByHeart brand infant formula as all ByHeart products are included in this recall.

Republished with permission from Bill Marler and Marler Clark. Copyright (c) Marler Clark LLP, PS. All rights reserved.

Source: https://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/byheart-infant-botulism-cases-jump-to-37-in-17-states-international-warnings/