Short course

Two major retail chains,including Walmart,have removed certain packages of Enfamil,a popular brand of infant formula,from thousands of stores after a Missouri infant who consumed the product died from a rare bacterial infection. The action by Walmart and Supervalu,which owns supermarket chains like Acme and Jewel,was highly unusual because there had been no determination by authorities that the formula was to blame for the childs death,and neither the manufacturer nor federal officials had sought a recall. The Food and Drug Administration said it was testing samples of the formula,Enfamil Premium Newborn powder,that it had obtained from the family of the dead child,Avery Cornett. Officials asserted that there was no immediate indication that the formula had been contaminated. As a precautionary measure,we made a company decision to remove the specific lot of the product from our store shelves nationwide, said Dianna Gee,a Walmart spokesperson.