Commissioner Jerry Farrell, Jr. today warned consumers not to eat or serve Nestle’s Farinha Lactea toddler cereal, imported from Brazil and reportedly distributed by Brex American of Miami, Florida until further notice. The product has been found to contain unacceptable levels of a pesticide.
The cereal was initially discovered by Department food inspectors as a mislabeled item at Mercearia Brasil, 107 Triangle Street in Danbury. Two hundred and one containers of the product were removed from store shelves. Although sold primarily in Brazilian language communities, the Nestle’s Farinha Lactea product labels nevertheless must be in English, and these were not, Farrell said.
“Regardless of the country of origin, volume, ingredients and required nutritional information on all food products sold in Connecticut must be printed in English on the label,” Farrell said. “This error caught our attention, and prompted us to submit the item for testing.”
Samples of the cereal tested by the Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station Laboratory were found to contain the pesticide pirimiphos-methyl at a level considered unacceptable by the Toxicology Unit at the Department of Public Health, and above the European Union’s action level. Because this chemical is not used on wheat products in the United States, there is no set standard here for its presence in wheat cereal. Pirimiphos-methyl is a grain fumigant.
“We are operating on the best information provided to us by both the European Union standards and recommendations of the Connecticut State Toxicologist regarding an acceptable level of this chemical.” Farrell said. “Since no United States standard exists, we adopt the position that no amount of this pesticide is safe in toddler cereal.”
While additional testing is conducted, the Commissioner cautions persons who have this product to discontinue its use for the time being.
“We are now seeking information about which stores have sold this product and will provide this information as soon as it is available,” Farrell said.
The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection continues its work with the Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to assist in the inspection and evaluation of imported food items that could contain milk or milk protein from China or other hazardous substance.
