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CVS pulls powdered Enfamil baby formula off shelves nationwide

Posted at 3:07 PM, Aug 29, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-30 06:33:45-04

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla — CVS has pulled all powdered Enfamil baby formula off its shelves as its pharmacy department does an internal review. The move comes after a Florida mother shared her story about what she found inside a tub of formula with Scripps station WFTS in Tampa.

Alison Denning says her package of Enfamil baby formula was tampered with before she opened the package.

"When I opened it up, this seal that wraps around was opened,” she said. 

RELATED: Mom says baby formula bought at nearby CVS was replaced with flour

Denning says the package looked fine on the outside and even had the protective seal intact on the lid, which is why she didn’t think twice about buying it. But when she got it home, she knew what she found inside was not baby formula. 

She sent the product back to the manufacturer for lab testing. She says Enfamil has been extremely friendly and helpful.

Enfamil said Denning's is an “isolated incident” and haven’t had any other reports of flour for this particular batch of formula. 

But this isn't the first time baby formula has tampered with — last year, a woman was arrested in Tucson, Arizona after she was found guilty of swapping baby formula with flour at two Walmart stores in the area. One baby was sickened after ingesting the tampered product but is doing OK now, according to the Associated Press.

“There is no recall related to this or other Enfamil branded products,” Lynn Kenney said. She's the Head of Corporate Communications, North America for the makers of Enfamil, Reckitt Benckiser. 

Even still, CVS decided to pull the product.

"Enfamil powder is temporarily unavailable in our stores due to an internal review being conducted by CVS Pharmacy," CVS said in a statement. "Our store employees can assist customers with finding an alternative product in the meantime. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

"I’m very relieved that they’re taking this seriously,” said Denning.

Denning got a sample size of Enfamil powdered baby formula from her pediatrician Wednesday.

"It’s an aluminum pop top,” she said. "Once you break the seal, you’ll know right away if someones been in it.”

Denning thinks it's much more tamper-proof than the tubs with bags inside. 

"Anyone who’s not 100% familiar with formula may have made a really bad mistake,” she said. 

Enfamil says there is no recall on any of its products but encourages anyone that purchases its products to check the appearance of the package — even differences that may be minor could be meaningful. Anyone thinks their package may have been tampered with can call their hotline at 1-800-BABY123.