Kendamil infant formula recall 2026.
Which batches were recalled, which were not, and what the EFSA science says.

If you are reading this because you have Kendamil in your kitchen and you want to know whether you need to throw it away, the answer is almost certainly no. The recall is specific, small, and geographically limited to one retailer in one country. But the story behind why it happened is worth understanding, because it tells you something useful about how formula supply chains actually work and how different countries set safety thresholds.

Here is what happened, in the order it happened.

What Kendamil products were recalled

On 22 February 2026, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency posted an official recall notice for a specific Kendamil product. The notice named two batch codes of Kendamil Infant Formula with Whole Milk, a 1,049 gram tin, UPC 8 50045 23826 1, Costco item number 1906402. Both batches were manufactured on the same date, 2025 MA 01, with a best-before date of 2027 MA 01.

The batch codes printed on the base of the affected tins are L 897274 M 121 and L 888632 M 121. These codes matter. If the code on your tin does not match one of these two exactly, your product is not part of the recall, even if the size, UPC and best-before date look similar. Costco Canada's own recall notice confirms the affected tins were sold at Costco Wholesale warehouses across Canada, at Costco Business Centres, and on costco.ca between June 2025 and February 2026.

One note on the distribution channel, because it has caused some confusion. CBC News and several other outlets ran headlines describing the product as "sold on Amazon, Costco." In the body of those same articles, and in the official CFIA notice, the recalled batches are identified as sold specifically at Costco Wholesale Canada. Costco's own customer service notice refers to purchases made in a Costco warehouse, a Costco Business Centre, or on costco.ca. The CFIA "Additional Information" field for the recall reads: "Sold only at Costco Wholesale, Canada." If you bought Kendamil on Amazon, your product is not part of the official CFIA recall list. The relevant check, as always, is the batch code on the base of the tin.

Nothing else is included. Not Kendamil Classic. Not Kendamil Organic. Not Kendamil Goat. Not Kendamil's other stages. Not Kendamil products sold in the UK, Ireland, the US, or anywhere else. The recall is defined by those two batch codes on those specific tins.

Why was Kendamil recalled in Canada

The reason given by CFIA is a concern about cereulide toxin. Cereulide is produced by certain strains of the bacterium Bacillus cereus. It can cause sudden nausea, vomiting and stomach pain, typically 30 minutes to six hours after ingestion. It is also heat-stable, which is the part that matters for infant formula: the toxin is not destroyed when you prepare a bottle with warm water. If it is in the powder, it stays in the bottle.

The CFIA notice states that the Canadian recall was triggered by a recall in another country, and notes it is conducting its own food safety investigation which may lead to further recalls. This is the standard regulatory language used when action in one jurisdiction prompts a precautionary review in another.

Kendal Nutricare, the UK manufacturer of Kendamil, has published a detailed Canada product update dated 22 February 2026 explaining the withdrawal from its perspective. The company's own framing is worth reading in full, but here is the core of it: in February 2026, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) introduced updated strict safety guidance for trace cereulide levels in infant formula, adopted across European states, the UK and Switzerland. Kendal Nutricare says all Kendamil product test results meet this latest European guidance. Health Canada, according to the company's statement, has applied a different approach: requesting the precautionary withdrawal of any potentially affected batches that may have any detectable presence, irrespective of compliant product test results.

In response to that request, Kendal Nutricare Canada voluntarily withdrew the two batches. The company describes this as being done out of an abundance of care and as a partnership action with Health Canada. The statement is signed by Ross, Will and Dylan McMahon, the Kendamil co-founders.

Was anyone harmed by the recalled batches

No illnesses have been reported in Canada in connection with these batches. The CFIA notice states this directly, and Kendal Nutricare's own statement confirms the same. The company goes further, explicitly reassuring parents who may have used the product that there is no reason for concern, and states that independent accredited testing confirmed both batches were below Europe's strictest safety guidance. The withdrawal happened because Health Canada applied a precautionary standard, not because a cluster of sick babies was identified. That is genuinely different from a situation where babies get sick and a product is then pulled.

On the broader cereulide picture, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has monitored the wider international recall activity that started in December 2025 and has reported some cases of vomiting and diarrhoea in infants who consumed formula from various recalled batches across different brands. ECDC has also noted that, as of its February 2026 update, it had not been informed of any severe cases linked to this broader event. In one confirmed case, an infant who drank formula from a recalled batch tested positive for the toxin, developed vomiting and diarrhoea, and recovered well. ECDC's own caveat is worth repeating: vomiting and diarrhoea in infants are very common and have many causes, including viral infections like norovirus. A sick baby is not automatic evidence that formula is to blame.

What is cereulide and what is the EFSA safety threshold

The cereulide recalls prompted the European Commission to ask EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority, to produce urgent scientific guidance. EFSA published its rapid risk assessment on 2 February 2026, and the specific numbers in it are worth knowing, because they are what the regulatory arguments are built on.

EFSA set an Acute Reference Dose, or ARfD, for cereulide in infants at 0.014 micrograms per kilogram of body weight. This is the amount that can be consumed in a 24-hour period without appreciable health risk, derived from benchmark dose modelling with vomiting as the critical adverse effect. EFSA added an extra safety factor on top of this, specifically for infants under 16 weeks, because their metabolism differs from adults in ways that warrant caution.

To translate that dose into a concentration regulators can actually test for in a tin of formula, EFSA calculated how much formula a baby might drink in 24 hours (using the higher end of typical intake, to stay conservative) and arrived at concentration thresholds. Reconstituted infant formula with cereulide above 0.054 micrograms per litre may exceed the safety threshold. For follow-on formula, the corresponding figure is 0.1 micrograms per litre. These are the numbers that EU risk managers use to decide when a product should be withdrawn as a precaution.

This is the scientific framework Kendamil is manufactured under. As a UK-produced infant formula, it is regulated within the EU and UK safety environment that EFSA's guidance applies to. Kendal Nutricare's own statement describes the EFSA guidance as a safety level set by independent scientists and designed specifically for infants, and emphasises that the limits sit well below levels at which short-term stomach upset would be expected. The company states that all Kendamil product test results meet this guidance.

Health Canada took a different view on the two batches distributed to Costco Canada. Kendal Nutricare's statement characterises the Canadian approach as not based on defined product testing results, and notes that Health Canada requested the precautionary withdrawal of any potentially affected batches regardless of whether test results for specific batches showed compliance with the EU standard.

This is not a scandal. It is what a precautionary voluntary withdrawal actually looks like. Two regulators, looking at the same situation, making different calls about where to draw the line. Health Canada decided that any batches whose ingredient sources could, in theory, be impacted by cereulide concerns elsewhere should come off the shelf as a precaution. The EU's approach relies on numeric thresholds backed by an independent scientific risk assessment. They are not in conflict; they are answering slightly different questions.

Is Kendamil recalled in the US?

No. The recall applies only to the 1,049 gram Kendamil Infant Formula with Whole Milk sold at Costco Wholesale Canada. If you buy Kendamil in the United States from Amazon, Target, Walmart, specialty retailers, or any other channel, your product is not part of this recall. No parallel recall has been issued by the FDA. The specific tin size and Costco Canada SKU that was pulled is not a product sold through US channels in the same configuration.

If you have a Kendamil tin at home and you want to be certain, the only thing that matters is the batch code on the base. The two codes on the recall list are the only ones affected anywhere in the world.

Is Kendamil recalled in the UK or Ireland?

No. Kendamil is manufactured in the UK, and there is no parallel recall in its home market or in Ireland. The Food Standards Agency in the UK has not issued a withdrawal of Kendamil. Irish retailers have not pulled product from shelves. As a UK-produced formula, Kendamil is made under the EU and UK regulatory framework for infant formula, which now includes the EFSA cereulide guidance published in February 2026.

If you live in the UK or Ireland and buy Kendamil from Boots, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Ocado, a pharmacy, or any other normal retailer, there is no action required. The only recalled batches are those two specific codes on tins sold at Costco Canada.

Is Kendamil Goat or Organic recalled

No. The Canadian recall is limited to one specific product: Kendamil Infant Formula with Whole Milk, 1,049 gram tin, UPC 8 50045 23826 1, in two batch codes (L 897274 M 121 and L 888632 M 121). Kendamil Goat, across all stages, is not part of this recall. Kendamil Organic, across all stages, is not part of this recall. Kendamil Classic is not part of this recall. Kendamil's toddler and follow-on formulas are not part of this recall. No Kendamil goat milk formula or Kendamil organic formula has been recalled in Canada or anywhere else under this action.

If you use Kendamil Goat Stage 1, 2, or 3, or Kendamil Organic Stage 1, 2, or 3, continue as normal. If you want to double-check any Kendamil product you own, look at the batch code on the base of the tin. Unless it matches L 897274 M 121 or L 888632 M 121 exactly, your tin is not subject to this recall.

Kendamil is a European-regulated formula

One piece of context that matters for understanding this recall: Kendamil is produced in the UK and sold in Canada as an imported European-style formula. The manufacturing, ingredient sourcing, and batch-level testing happen under the EU and UK regulatory framework. That framework now includes the EFSA cereulide guidance discussed above, which was itself developed in response to the wider cereulide events of late 2025 and early 2026.

This is why the recall is geographically specific. The two batches that ended up at Costco Canada were subject to Canadian regulatory review when cereulide concerns began circulating internationally. Health Canada applied a precautionary standard that resulted in the voluntary withdrawal of those two batches. The rest of Kendamil's global supply (UK, Ireland, EU, US, and elsewhere) has not been subject to a parallel withdrawal because no other regulator has made the same precautionary call about Kendamil specifically.

For the wider picture of infant formula recalls and availability during this period, including the WHO March 2026 update and the other brands affected by cereulide concerns, see our main formula shortage 2026 coverage.

The wider international context

Kendamil is not the only brand subject to cereulide-related regulatory action over the past few months. The European Food Safety Authority's own background on the event describes "multi-country recalls of several infant nutrition products (different batches, products, and brands)" that began in December 2025 and continued into early 2026. EFSA's scientific opinion was commissioned by the European Commission precisely because this was a multi-brand, multi-country situation that EU regulators needed consistent guidance on.

This context matters because the Kendamil Canadian recall sits within a wider international regulatory event. Understanding that is more useful than reading any single brand's recall in isolation.

What to do if you have a recalled tin

Check the batch code first. It is printed on the base of the tin. If it reads L 897274 M 121 or L 888632 M 121, do not use the product. Do not use up what is left. Do not donate it. Do not give it to anyone else.

Return it to any Costco warehouse. Costco Canada does not require a receipt for recalled items and is offering a full refund. If you cannot get to a Costco, you can contact Kendal Nutricare Canada Customer Service on 1-888-562-4898, available from 3:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST, seven days a week, to arrange an alternative.

If your baby has been drinking formula from one of these batches and is well, there is nothing specific to do. No illnesses have been reported in Canada, and the withdrawal is precautionary and voluntary. Kendamil is manufactured under UK and EU safety standards. If your baby is unwell, treat it as you would any GI illness in an infant: call your paediatrician, watch for dehydration, and go to an emergency department if symptoms are severe. Gastrointestinal symptoms in babies can have many causes, most of them not related to formula at all.