Still, the FDA could not determine where in the production chain the bacteria entered or how.
“Even though there are several hypotheses, investigational findings could not identify the source or root cause of contamination of the powdered infant formula,” the agency concluded.
Finger-pointing
Bill Marler, a lawyer specializing in food poisoning who is also representing 25 of the sickened infants in litigation, told Ars that the conclusion is “a little underwhelming to put it mildly.” The epilogue that the FDA posted this week, titled the “Post-Outbreak Response Activities,” provided a summary “without any real clear guidance for consumers or for the companies going forward.”
In the meantime, each of the three companies is shirking blame. ByHeart released a statement this week saying “FDA has shared that it did not identify any deficiencies in ByHeart’s facilities that could explain the root cause of this outbreak.”
