"My Baby Fell Seriously Ill with a High Fever and 'Ghost' Skin After Using Recalled Formula – I Demand Answers!"

A MUM rushed her 10-week old baby to A&E after he drank baby formula that is now being investigated over toxin fears.

Chelsea Kelly, 24, spent days in a total panic when her baby Kai developed a “dangerous” fever of 38.4C, was left vomiting and had diarrhoea.

Chelsea Kelly is calling for answers after the formula was recalledCredit: NNP Her son Kai became sick after drinking now recalled SMA formulaCredit: NNP

The mum is now demanding answers as the tot became ill just days after .

Chelsea said she gave Kai two full tubs of SMA’s Lactose Free infant formula.

As of February 5, the UKHSA announced that it had received “36 clinical notifications where children who have consumed implicated batches have symptoms consistent with cereulide toxin poisoning in England.”

While there are still no confirmed cases, the authority is continuing its probe.

Chelsea, from Bishop Auckland, County Durham, told The Sun how she was scared and raced Kai to urgent care on January 5 but said the doctors were “basically clueless”.

The mum had which she later realised had one of the contaminated batch codes, on January 2, from Morrisons.

Chelsea said after she started giving Kai the formula his temperature skyrocketed, he had diarrhoea, a fever, was vomiting and had a rash on his chest.

Kai’s symptoms only got worse, and her newborn baby was “red-hot to the touch” and “looked like Casper the ghost”.

After her trip to the hospital, she said docs couldn’t provide definitive answers – despite saying the illness may have been a virus.

While Nestlé first issued the SMA product recall on January 5, Chelsea did not see it until the following day.

The first-time-mum said she stopped giving Kai the formula, and by January 7, he had begun to feel better, but Chelsea was still giving him Calpol every 4 to 6 hours to treat his fever.

Chelsea told The Sun she contacted doctors again about wanting him rechecked and tested – but doctors said there was nothing more they could do.

Britain’s Food Standards Agency warns “symptoms caused by this toxin include nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps”.

And since then, further batches from other companies have been recalled due to a “shared third-party supplier” – by too.

Jodie Wild, head of incidents unit at the FSA, told Sky: “Ongoing investigations have identified that the contamination originated from a shared third-party ingredient supplier.

“The affected ingredient is an oil called arachidonic acid (ARA). We are urgently tracing all products that may have used ingredients from this supplier to make sure any affected products are removed from sale.

“Nestlé has recalled a number of batches of SMA formula, and .

“Both recalls are due to the presence of cereulide, a toxin that can cause vomiting and nausea. If further recalls are needed, we will announce them immediately.”

Chelsea has now said she wants a full and has said she feels she was “not listened to” when she got back in touch with doctors.

Kai is now feeling better after his illness.Credit: NNP Chelsea said she was left terrified by the ordeal – and urged other mums to come forwardCredit: NNP

Chelsea said: “Being a first-time mum and not being listened to when something is seriously wrong with your baby, it’s terrifying.

“And I don’t even want to think about how many other mums there are out there that this is happening to.”

And she warned mums to be on the lookout for the recalled product, especially if their tot has fallen ill.

She was vomiting so aggressively she couldn’t catch her breath

Jessica, from Essex

Chelsea said when she called SMA on the phone with her concerns, they reiterated that there were no confirmed illnesses.

She is not the only mum to come forward demanding answers.

Another mum – Jessica, from Essex – also told the Sun her baby got sick after drinking the formula.

She spent the festive period worrying as her baby got sicker and sicker – and then realised she had been fed the recalled formula.

Jessica was in the process of swapping her six-month-old baby’s milk to lactose-free after a doctor said she might be allergic to cow’s milk.

She opted for SMA Alpha Mino because she heard the brand was known for specialist milks and gradually introduced it to Poppy’s bottle.

Over the next few days she saw Poppy, her “really happy baby”, begin crying, “pushing the bottle away” and develop a rash on her belly.

Poppy then woke up with a noticeably drier nappy, which Jessica explained is “not a good sign in babies”.

Jessica said that by Christmas Eve Poppy was vomiting so much she couldn’t catch her breath.

She decided to swap back to Poppy’s normal milk for Christmas day and instantly her daughter showed signs of recovery.

“She was still a bit fussy because obviously she’s uncomfortable from being so sick for the past few days,” Jessica added.

After a bout of constipation, Poppy is now on the mend and back to her happy self.

Jessica was then forwarded the recall notice, and checked her batch code on the serial number of the box and found it was on the list of recalled batches.

She then contacted SMA on the day of the recall.

A spokesperson for Nestlé told The Sun: “We are very sorry to hear about these cases and our teams will work closely with any families who report these types of concerns to us.

“We continue to ask parents to check the batch codes of recalled products against our recall notice and thank all those who have contacted us so far.

“We never want to have to recall products for any reason but quality and safety is non-negotiable and that is why we have acted quickly with this precautionary recall.

“We would remind anyone with any health concerns to contact a healthcare professional and apologise again that we have had to take this action.”

Elsewhere, another mum who asked to be kept anonymous described similar symptoms and circumstances when speaking to Sky News .

The fact that this has been found in baby milk is a real concern.

Cath Rees, Professor of Microbiology at Nottingham University

Cath Rees, Professor of Microbiology at Nottingham University said the toxin found in the formula could cause serious illness in young children.

She explained: “Cereulide is a well-known food poisoning toxin that is normally associated with pasta and rice dishes, typically those that have been reheated after storing inappropriately, allowing growth of the bacterium that makes the toxin.

“Reheating the food kills the bacteria, but the toxin is heat-stable and so survives and causes food poisoning.

“While this toxin normally causes a short period of mild illness in adults (typically nausea and vomiting), it has been known to cause more serious illness in children (including some deaths when high levels have been ingested) and therefore, the fact that this has been found in baby milk is a real concern.

“Finding this in a milk product is not that common, and suggests an unusual contamination route, but infant formula does not contain only milk; other things are added to provide all of the nutritional elements that are normally present in breast milk, so it’s possible this toxin has got into the product from one of these other ingredients.”

A spokesperson for Nestlé said last Friday: “Following the detection of a quality issue with an ingredient provided by a leading supplier, Nestlé has undertaken testing of all arachidonic acid (ARA) oil and corresponding oil mixes used in the production of potentially impacted infant nutrition products.

“No illnesses have been confirmed in connection with the products involved to date.

“The company is in contact with [UK/Irish] authorities and as a precautionary measure, is voluntarily recalling specific batches of its SMA infant formula and follow-on formula.

“Nestlé assures parents and caregivers that it is implementing appropriate actions to safeguard the health and well being of families and their babies.

“At the same time, the company is working to minimise any potential supply disruption.

“Nestlé remains committed to keeping parents, caregivers and the public informed and to providing clear, transparent information and support throughout this process.”

The UKHSA announced earlier this week that while there are no confirmed cases of children falling ill from the recalled product, they are investigating claims after 36 children exhibited symptoms.

Gauri Godbole, Deputy Director, Gastrointestinal Infections, Food Safety and One Health at UKHSA, said: “UKHSA and partner agencies have received 36 clinical notifications of children developing symptoms consistent with cereulide toxin poisoning across the UK, after consuming implicated batches.

“Given the widespread availability of the affected products prior to the recall and subsequent testing from the FSA identifying the toxin in batches of recalled formula, this is not unexpected.

“Current surveillance indicators do not show unusual increases in reports of vomiting in children under the age of 1 for this time of year, but UKHSA are monitoring these outputs and continue to investigate the public health implications of this recall, including the impact of the toxin on children.

“Parents and caregivers are advised to recheck and remove all recalled formula from their homes to prevent illness in their children.”

The Sun has gone to Morrisons for comment.

Chelsea said Kai was left ‘looking like a ghost’ by his illnessCredit: NNP SMA has recalled certain batches of a number of their products due to toxin fearsCredit: NNP