The government has ordered an immediate recall of infant milk powder Dumex Mamil Gold after reports emerged in Singapore that the product contained traces of bacteria that was harmful to babies.

In an immediate response, the Cambodia Import-Export Inspection and Fraud Repression Directorate General (Camcontrol), under the Ministry of Commerce, issued a warning on Wednesday to stop the sale and consumption of the milk powder.

Camcontrol General Department director Sin Sidet told The Post on Wednesday that the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore discovered cronobacter sakazakii in the samples of the Dumex Mamil Gold Infant Milk Formula-Step 1.

The affected product has the batch number 09117R1 and expires on September 11, 2019. The milk powder is produced in Malaysia.

“We have taken urgent measures. Camcontrol will visit all markets nationwide to check for this brand and we will retrieve them. But not all Dumex brands are affected and only this batch of milk powder has a problem,” he said.

He advised vendors and consumers who have the milk powder to turn it in to the department.

Singapore’s Today Online quoted AVA as saying that Cronobacter infections are generally rare but can be fatal to newborns as they could lead to meningitis or sepsis.

‘Immediate precautions’

In the wake of the controversy, its manufacturer, Dumex, issued a statement on Tuesday confirming the affected batch has been “completely removed” from stores in Singapore.

The company said it was coordinating with AVA and had taken “immediate precautionary steps to retrieve the specific batch from the shelves”.

“We are currently investigating this issue on a high priority basis,” said the statement, as reported by Today Online.

Dumex said it had not received any complaints related to the issue until now.

“We have in place stringent processes and conduct rigorous tests by international standards. This includes conducting tests before the product is shipped out of the factory to Singapore,” it said in the statement.