'Dangerous' baby milk to be taken off shelves

Cartons of baby milk are being recalled from across London today after it emerged that infants are in danger of becoming sick after drinking it.

SMA Nutrition has recalled one batch of its Ready To Use Liquid Infant Milk, with the best before date 12 March 2009, after mothers reported it had made their babies ill. It is thought up to 40,000 one-litre cartons are affected, with customers finding the milk had curdled and separated.

One mother from Belsize Park said her nine-month-old daughter was "extremely sick" for three days. She only realised it may have been the milk from Sainsbury's in Camden Town after a carton exploded.

She contacted SMA which asked her to send the cartons back for testing. She said: "It's shocking. This is a respected brand used by millions. It is fed to babies from birth to age one. At that age they are incredibly vulnerable."

A source at SMA confirmed it had launched an investigation at the factory. She said: "We are pretty sure it only affects this isolated batch but nevertheless we have had a number of calls from parents claiming their infants have been violently ill."

A spokesman for SMA Nutrition advised customers not to use the affected cartons.