Namibia has no reported illness linked to a recalled batch of Nestlé NAN Special Pro HA infant formula, health minister Esperance Luvindao told the National Assembly yesterday.
This is despite concerns over possible contamination with a toxin that can cause foodborne illness.
The minister of health and social services said the recall was precautionary, but warned that the potential consequences could be serious because the affected population involves infants.
“At the moment there is no documented evidence of health outcomes or impact in Namibia of the products in question. However, the risk is high because the affected population is infants, and any cases to be identified may have serious consequences,” she said.
The recall followed the detection of cereulide, a toxin produced by Bacillus cereus, in non-distributed finished products from a specific production line at a Nestlé manufacturing facility in The Netherlands.
Luvindao said Nestlé’s investigation traced the problem to a quality defect in an ingredient supplied by one of its vendors and used in certain infant formula products.
The affected product in Namibia is NAN Special Pro HA 0-12, packaged in six 800g tins, batch number 51660742F3, with a best-before date of 15 December 2026. It was manufactured on 15 June 2025 and has a shelf life of 18 months.
The product was sold through major retailers and distributors across Namibia
from September 2025.
Luvindao said the ministry issued an urgent recall notice on 9 January to chief regional officers, regional health directors and the Ministry of Urban
and Rural Development to ensure the affected product was withdrawn from the market.
The notice was circulated to local authorities, including the City of Windhoek, and reached towns, villages and settlements across the country.
“Inspections are done by environmental health practitioners, previously known as health inspectors,” she said.
The ministry, working with regional health directorates and local authorities, conducted inspections and continues to monitor the situation.
“To date, no products were found on the shelves nor at the local distributors,” Luvindao said.
She said environmental health practitioners also focused on public institutions and retailers in villages and settlements without local councils or municipalities.
The ministry is consulting the International Food Safety Authorities Network through the emergency contact point at Namibia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform, as well as the International Health Regulations focal point.
Luvindao said the ministry would continue surveillance of the affected products and other emerging food safety concerns.
The recall has also been reported internationally.
According to information cited by the minister, 99 countries and territories have received recalled infant formula products across affected brands and products containing the implicated arachidonic acid oil mixes as of 16 February this year.
Five countries – Brazil, Singapore, Spain, France and the United Kingdom– has reported a combined 60 suspected cases of cereulide intoxication among people with a history of consuming recalled products.
Belgium has recorded five confirmed cases.
The figures cover affected products across multiple brands and do not establish that the reported cases were linked specifically to NAN Special Pro HA.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cereulide is a heat-stable toxin produced by certain strains of Bacillus cereus, a Grampositive, spore-forming bacterium ubiquitous in soil, dust, and food production environments.
“Symptoms manifest rapidly, typically within 30 to to 60 minutes after ingestion, and usually present as acute gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain) with risk of rapid dehydration and electrolyte imbalance which can be particularly severe in infants due to their physiological vulnerability and limited reserves.
“The toxin has a very low symptomatic dose threshold and remains fully active despite gastric conditions, contributing to its clinical potency.
“For babies who rely entirely on formula, repeated feedings can increase the amount of toxin consumed, and using contaminated formula for rehydration can worsen illness,” the organisation says.
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