Out-of-date baby milk made my boy sick
ANEW mum from Burscough was furious after her four-week-old baby became sick after drinking out-of-date milk bought from Tesco.
Leah Houghton is warning other parents to be vigilant after feeding her son Reuben-Lee a bottle of instant Cow & Gate formula milk which went out of date almost four months ago.
The 23-year-old had popped into her local store, in Burscough, to pick up some bottles of milk for when she was out and about.
Within hours of feeding her baby one of them, he started being sick and was lethargic and off his food.
Leah said: “When my partner Ben arrived home from work, he happened to pick up the other bottle and noticed it had gone out of date in May.
‘‘I couldn’t believe I’d already fed our baby one of the bottles.”
Leah immediately rang her health visitor who told her if the tot’s condition deteriorated she should take him A&E.
Leah, who is a coffee shop manager, added: “She told me the symptoms could worsen over the next couple of days and that I should keep a careful eye on him.”
After taking the remaining bottle with the receipt back to the store the mum was offered just a 75p refund and some nappies as an apology.
She explained: ‘‘I took the milk back to the store and the manager told me someone would be in touch.
“I received a call the next day to say they were very sorry and that they were looking into issue of stock rotation in store.
“I was then told that they had spoken to head office who had agreed to give me a refund for the unopened bottle of 75p and that if I came into the store they would give me a pack of nappies.
“I couldn’t believe it – they didn’t even offer me a refund on the bottle he had already drunk.
“As a new mum you are constantly told about the risks of infection to newborn babies as their immune system hasn’t developed.
“You’d expect a company like Tesco to make sure their baby products are checked properly to ensure they are safe and in date.
“I want to warn other parents to make sure they check before giving their baby milk as it could have been a much more serious result.
“Thankfully Reuben seems to be recovering and hopefully won’t suffer any lasting problems.”
A Tesco spokesperson said: “We are surprised to hear about this complaint as we work hard to provide the highest standards of food safety and have robust procedures that regularly check the dates of our baby milk products.
“However, as we take all complaints seriously we have double-checked the baby milk on the shelves of our Burscough Bridge store so customers can be sure it is all in date.”