ByHeart infant formula recall tied to botulism outbreak puts parents on edge

Ashley Rodolph, a 26-year-old mother who lives in Texas, started buying ByHeart infant formula because she believed it was a safer, cleaner alternative to other baby products on the market

Ashley Rodolph, a 26-year-old mother who lives in Texas, started buying ByHeart infant formula because she believed it was a safer, cleaner alternative to other baby products on the market.

But that assumption was dramatically upended this month. Rodolph learned that ByHeart was recalling its powdered formula because it is likely tied to an infant botulism outbreak that has sickened more than a dozen babies. She panicked, hoping the formula she’s been feeding her daughter for the past three months was not from a defective can.

“I don’t know if we’ve had those cans or not, and that was pretty terrifying to think about,” she said in a phone interview on Friday. “When you’re feeding your baby formula, you don’t think to keep the cans just in case of a recall.”

Ashley Rodolph and her daughter Saphira.Courtesy Ashley RodolphRodolph and her husband stopped using the formula on Nov. 9, a day after the product was pulled from store shelves and online merchants amid an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration. She’s been advised by the family’s pediatrician to monitor her daughter Saphira for the emergence of symptoms.

“You look at your baby and you see them being totally fine, and then you question yourself like: What if they’re not? What if they’re showing symptoms and I just don’t know what they are? What if tomorrow she’s not OK?” Rodolph said. “It’s an absolutely terrifying situation.”