Health officials urge parents to stop using recalled infant formula

Families in Hidalgo County who have Nara Organics Whole Milk Organic Infant Formula at home should stop using it immediately and separate the container from other baby-feeding supplies. The nationwide recall covered all lots of the formula sold through Target stores, Target.com and Nara.com, and New Mexico health officials said the warning was urgent even though the state has no confirmed botulism cases tied to the outbreak.

Parents with an opened can should photograph it, write down the lot number and use-by date, label it DO NOT USE and keep it away from other feeding items for at least a month after the last feeding. The formula, which was manufactured in Europe and sold by a company based in New York, NY, was distributed nationally from July 2025 through June 2026, so families who bought it online or picked it up in store need to check it carefully. If there is any doubt, the New Mexico Department of Health helpline is meant for non-urgent questions.

The symptoms officials want parents to watch for include constipation, difficulty swallowing, a weak sucking response, drooping eyelids or misaligned eyes, a weak or altered cry, lethargy, loss of head control that can make a baby seem floppy, decreased facial expression, loss of muscle tone and trouble breathing. CDC guidance says signs can take several weeks to appear, which is why parents are told to watch infants for a full month after the last feeding of the recalled formula. If symptoms develop, the child should be evaluated by a medical professional right away.

The outbreak investigation opened June 13 and has involved three infants, one each in California, Pennsylvania and Washington, all of whom were 2 to 5 months old when they became ill. Each baby was hospitalized and treated with BabyBIG, and no deaths have been reported. Testing of opened and unopened product samples was still underway, with results expected in the coming weeks, while federal officials said shortages are not expected because Nara Organics accounts for less than 1% of infant formula sold in the United States.

For Hidalgo County families, the recall lands in a place where a replacement can mean a long drive, a limited store selection or waiting on an online shipment. Pediatric providers, county health services and WIC offices can help families replace feeding supplies quickly, and Target stores or Target.com orders should be checked against the recall before any more formula is used. A previous CDC investigation into ByHeart infant formula, later closed after 28 confirmed cases and 20 probable cases, showed how fast formula-linked botulism alerts can escalate once symptoms begin.