Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) is questioning the sale of ByHeart infant formula to MeridianMade, a new company that was founded and led by ByHeart’s co-founders Ron Belldegrun and Mia Funt. The issue with that powdered formula is that it caused 48 confirmed and probable cases of infant botulism. Every infant was hospitalized.
DeLauro said in a statement, “ByHeart was at the center of one of the most serious infant formula safety issues in recent memory. [Forty-eight] babies across 17 states were sickened by ByHeart’s formula, and every one of them hospitalized. ByHeart formula has since been discontinued. While FDA has traced the contamination to an ingredient in the supply chain, the exact origin of the bacteria remains unresolved and a root cause still has not been identified. Families still do not know how, when or exactly where their children’s formula became contaminated.
“Our infant formula market is even more consolidated than it was at the time of the 2022 outbreak that left families going to Facebook Marketplace to feed their children. While I am grateful that infant formula giants Abbott and Mead Johnson are not acquiring Perrigo’s formula business, I still have serious questions about this acquisition. Before they continue to expand, parents deserve answers. I will keep pressing for a full accounting of what went wrong, and of what is being done to prevent this from happening again.
“ByHeart discontinuing their formula does not mean our search for answers on safety stops. They have become even more pertinent with this announcement. I also fear the further consolidation in the infant formula market as we lose Perrigo as a manufacturer.
“The food we give babies should meet the highest standard of safety. I will always fight to ensure it does.”
The case count by state was: Arizona (5), California (12), Idaho (2), Illinois (2), Kentucky (1), Massachusetts (2), Michigan (1), Minnesota (3), North Carolina (2), New Jersey (1), Oregon (3), Pennsylvania (1), Rhode Island (1), Texas (8), Virginia (1), Washington (2), and Wisconsin (1). The infants range in age from 16 to 264 days. Illness onset dates ranged from December 24, 2023 to November 29, 2025. All of the infants were treated with BabyBIG®, the FDA-approved treatment for this infection developed by the California Department of Health.
