15 Babies Sickened In Botulism Outbreak: Recall Roundup

ByHeart, a manufacturer of organic baby formula, recalled all of its products sold nationwide Tuesday, days after some batches were recalled in an expanding outbreak of infant botulism.

At least 15 babies in 12 states have been sickened in the outbreak since August, with more cases pending, according to state and federal health officials. All of the infants were hospitalized after consuming ByHeart formula, officials said. No deaths have been reported.

ByHeart officials expanded the voluntary recall from two lots announced last weekend to all products in consumers’ homes and in stores. That includes ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula and Anywhere Pack pouches of powdered formula.

The company sells about 200,000 cans of infant formula a month online and in stores such as Target, Walmart, Albertsons and Whole Foods, according to Dr. Devon Kuehn, chief medical officer.

Parents and caregivers who have the formula in their homes “should immediately discontinue use and dispose of the product,” Kuehn said.

Company officials said they enacted the unusual recall “in close collaboration” with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration even though no product that was previously unopened tested positive for the contamination. — Reporting by The Associated Press

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Latest On Listeria Outbreak That Killed 6

A deadly listeria outbreak that has sickened people 18 states and killed six people was linked to recalled frozen meals that sourced pasta from a California company, federal health officials said.

As of Oct. 30, six people have died and 25 have been hospitalized due to the outbreak, according to the most recent update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In total, 27 cases have been identified.

In one case, a pregnant woman miscarried after getting sick, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The outbreak was first announced in June and has caused a series of recalls of prepared pasta meals. An investigation into the outbreak traced the illnesses to recalled ready-to-eat pasta meals that sourced pasta from Nate's Fine Foods, based in Roseville in Northern California, according to the FDA.

The company said in a statement that it recalled the pasta products “out of an abundance of caution.” The products were sold at grocery stores nationwide, including Kroger, Sprouts Farmers Market, Trader Joe's, Walmart and other major stores.

Nate’s Fine Foods doesn’t sell directly to retail, but said it is working with its customers and the FDA to determine if additional recalls are needed.

Listeria illnesses have been reported in18 states: California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.

Tesla Cites Fire Risk In Recall

Tesla is recalling about 10,500 of its Powerwall 2 home backup battery system due to the risk of overheating, burns and fires, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Elon Musk’s auto and energy business has taken 22 reports of overheating, including six reports of smoking and five reports of a fire resulting in minor property damage, according to the recall notice. No injuries have been reported.

Tesla attributed the problem to a “third-party battery cell defect,” according to the notice.

Tesla will replace all affected units for Powerwall customers in the United States.

The units were sold online and through certified Tesla installers nationwide from November 2020 through December 2022 for about $8,000.

Engines Can Stall, Prompting Toyota Recall

Toyota is recalling 126,691 Tundra and Lexus models because the engines may suddenly stall, increasing the risk of a crash, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“Debris from the manufacturing process may contaminate the engine and cause the main bearings to fail, which can result in an engine stall and loss of drive power,” the NTSHA said in a Nov. 6 recall notice. The problem can also cause difficulty in starting the vehicles.

Vehicles included in the recall include:

• Toyota Tundra, model year 2022-2024
• Lexus LX600, model year 2022-2024
• Lexus GX550, model year 2024

Toyota said owners of the vehicles subject to recall will be notified in a letter expected to be mailed on Dec. 22. Owners will be notified by mail again once a fix is available, according to the recall documents. Repairs will be made at no charge to vehicle owners.

Questions may be directed to Toyota's customer service department at 800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for the recall are 25TB14 and 25TA14, while the recall numbers for affected Lexus vehicles are 25LB07 and 25LA07.