ACMSF publishes report on infant botulism

Thursday 7 September 2006

The Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF) has published a report on chilled and frozen baby foods, concluding that there is no evidence to suggest that these foods have caused infant botulism.

The report says that there is a low risk of infant botulism from eating chilled and frozen baby foods. Other commercially produced baby foods (e.g. jarred or canned) and home-made baby foods are also low risk in relation to infant botulism.

More chilled and frozen baby foods are becoming available in the UK as an alternative to traditional pre-cooked puréed meals packaged in jars or cans, and dried foods that need rehydrating. These chilled and frozen products might receive a milder cooking process than jarred and canned baby foods and therefore may contain Clostridium botulinum spores. So in 2003 the FSA asked the ACMSF to consider chilled and frozen baby foods in relation to the risk of infant botulism.

Infant botulism is a serious illness, which is very rare in the UK. It occurs when Clostridium botulinum or related bacteria produce toxins in the intestines of babies under a year old.

The report reviews the microbiology of Clostridium botulinum and infant botulism epidemiology. The manufacturing and process controls used in the production of chilled and frozen baby foods are examined. Making baby food in the home and guidance that is available to manufacturers, enforcers and consumers are also considered, and the enforcement of product safety controls is summarised. The report also estimates the relative risk of infant botulism from baby foods and details the work carried out on an independently reviewed risk assessment of infant botulism.

The ACMSF is a statutory committee, set up in 1990, providing expert advice to Government on questions relating to microbiological issues and food.

To order a hard copy of the report email the ACMSF Secretariat at acmsf@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk, quoting document reference FSA/1092/0706.