The Heartbreaking ByHeart Infant Botulism Outbreak and What the Food Industry Can Do to Prevent Them | Episode 147

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In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, our hosts Matt and Francine are unpacking what's shaping up to be one of the worst outbreaks of 2025: the ByHeart Infant Botulism Outbreak linked to their baby formula, previously Clean Label Project (CLP) certified.

There have been other cases over the years, and, unfortunately, this just happens to be the most recent one. We need to find a way to curb this. 

That's why our hosts are sharing not only the details of this international outbreak, but also possible solutions and straightforward practices that food producers can implement to effectively prevent outbreaks.

In this episode:

0:01:07 What CLP does and doesn't test for and why

0:10:48 How Matt helped companies through outbreaks

0:15:27 How the industry can truly prevent outbreaks

0:23:23 How to ensure your product is pathogen-free

0:26:42 Why baby formula standards must be stricter

0:39:30 One of the worst outbreaks of 2025

Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice.

Resources from this episode

Learn all about Clean Label Project in our interview with Jaclyn Bowen, the previous Executive Director, in Episode 101.

Stay up-to-date on this outbreak here.

Read Bill Marler's article on Operation Stork Speed.

Noteworthy quotes from this episode

“ The only 100% way that you are not going to get somebody pregnant or an STD is: don't have sex. For the advice for the industry, the only way to be 100% sure that you are not going to have pathogens in your product is to test them all. ” – Matt Regusci

“ This isn't the only case. [...] This just happens to be the most current. Now we're giving [babies] poisoned food, and it's the only food they're receiving. It's detrimental, and we need to find a way to curb this.” – Francine L Shaw

We hope you enjoy this episode!

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