The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is left scratching its head after an outbreak of botulism in babies linked to spore-contaminated formula from ByHeart. Despite tracing the contamination back to specific milk lots, the agency still doesn’t know where the bacteria came from or how to prevent a recurrence.

The 48 infants across 17 states who became ill are still recovering months after their diagnosis. The Clostridium botulinum spores, which can be found in soil and sediments, managed to thrive in the vulnerable guts of babies, producing neurotoxins that caused flaccid paralysis.

The FDA's investigation traced contaminated formula and milk powder back to eight whole milk lot powders from 33 fluid milk lots sourced by Organic West. The supplier then sold this to ByHeart, a company now embroiled in an internal blame game with other companies involved in the supply chain.

While the genetic makeup of the strains matches those found in both ByHeart's formula and powdered whole milk used in it, the FDA’s report is still short on concrete answers. Consumers are left wondering if their baby food could be the next victim of such a contamination.