The current phony stock is all eight-ounce plastic cans of liquid Similac with iron, in ready-to-feed concentration, sold in six-packs. All cans bear the fraudulent lot number OCT96 L5 SI 89635 and carry paper labels (authentic Similac labels are plastic, with silver foil backing). The first cans seized contained Isomil, a soy-based formula made by the same manufacturer; others contained real Similac, but possibly near or past the expiration date. Most of the stock came from large chain stores. The agency also shut down sales of counterfeit powdered Similac in February and March.
According to FDA spokesman Don McLearn, the formula seized last week presents little health risk-the product becomes lumpy or grainy, hard to pass through a nipple, before losing its nutritional value. “There appears to be no hazard,” he said. “But we don’t know the bottom line yet.”
