Gallia Infant Milk Withdrawn in Europe Now Recalled in Haiti

This decision was communicated to Haitian retailers by NUTRIPHAR, the importer of Blédina and Gallia products for several supermarkets in the country

The French food company Danone has ordered the withdrawal from the Haitian market of certain batches of Gallia infant milk that had already been removed from the European market over concerns of bacterial contamination.

This decision comes three days after an investigation by AyiboPost. It was communicated to Haitian retailers by NUTRIPHAR, the importer of Blédina and Gallia products for several supermarkets in the country.

The multinational NUTRIPHAR refers to “a precautionary recall of these products on the Haitian market” in a circular addressed to resellers on February 16 and obtained by AyiboPost.

A product information sheet listing the items concerned by the recall in France, communicated to NUTRIPHAR by Danone, requests the withdrawal of five batches bearing different expiration dates in 2026 and 2027.

Contacted by AyiboPost, Danone initially denied the presence in Haiti of products recalled in Europe. “No batch affected by the recall in Europe has been identified as having been directly exported to Haiti through our official distribution channels,” the French company wrote in an email sent to AyiboPost on February 9.

After AyiboPost published its investigation, the company ultimately acknowledged in writing the presence in Haiti of five batches of its products that had been recalled in France.

According to the correspondence from Danone addressed to NUTRIPHAR, the withdrawal of the batches of milk concerned follows new requirements from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) regarding the recommended threshold of cereulide in infant milk. The company also asks its business partners to follow local procedures regarding product recalls and communication with the relevant authorities.

Danone’s distributor in Haiti, NUTRIPHAR, states that its sales representatives will collect the recalled batches of products and guarantees that they will be replaced with other batches not affected by the decision, in a letter sent to wholesalers, supermarkets, and agencies announcing the decision on February 18, 2026.

While these recall procedures are underway with some companies, the oversight bodies of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Public Health have made no official communication on the matter.

The Directorate for Quality Control and Consumer Protection (DCQPC) of the Ministry of Commerce has still not been informed of the recall measures.

“In my department, I have received no alert regarding these categories of products,” Papyto Vilvert, assistant director of the DCQPC, told AyiboPost during a conversation this Friday.

According to Vilvert, the Directorate of Domestic Commerce of the Ministry of Commerce has begun steps with customs authorities to obtain certain information following AyiboPost’s investigation.

Specifically, the department wants to establish the list of companies importing these products in order to conduct specific follow-ups and then carry out inspections on the market.

As a precaution, the company Delimart Haiti has already removed Gallia and Blédilait products affected by the withdrawals in Europe following the publication of AyiboPost’s article.

NUTRIPHAR’s sales representatives will collect the recalled batches of products. They will be replaced with other batches not affected by the decision.

Upon receiving the official documents from Danone, Delimart says it placed the batches of milk concerned in quarantine, then launched a complete inventory by store in order to consolidate the quantities at each point of sale.

This will allow the supermarket to organize the recovery of the batches according to established procedures.

Olympic Market, cited in AyiboPost’s investigation, is also taking the same approach.

Reached by phone by AyiboPost, an employee of the supermarket, who says he was not aware of the recall decision, indicates that the company removed the dairy products concerned from its shelves after AyiboPost’s investigation.

Product recalls due to bacterial concerns affect several companies and several countries around the world. In the case of infant milk recalls, several major manufacturers of products for young children, including Nestlé and Lactalis, have been forced to withdraw their products from the market in various countries due to the presence of the toxin cereulide, which can cause nausea and diarrhea.