Back in 2012, there was a rumour that circulated in Singapore claiming that Nestlé’s product line of Gerber baby food has been recalled over reports that they contain glass shards.
It involved Nestle P’tit Pot Recette Banana.
Every time such news stories start making their rounds, it’s usually accompanied by mass hysteria—and understandably so. No parent wants to live through the horror of finding out something dangerous lurking in their baby’s products.
According to a Asia One report, however, Nestle Singapore has since stated that there was no factual basis to the rumour.
Although the rumour was patterned after an actual recall by Nestle France, it was misleading and inaccurate.
Gerber, a United States based subsidiary of Nestle, also had nothing to do with the recall.
Nestle Singapore has since released a statement saying that it “would like to assure customers that the recall of Nestle P’tit Pot Recette Banana baby food does not affect the Singapore market, as the product is sold only in France.
“The safety and quality of Nestlé products are non-negotiable priorities for the company and products manufactured, marketed, imported and exported meet the highest quality and safety standards for the wellbeing of our consumers.”
Now the same story is circulating again in certain online groups, and once again it’s caused concern among moms.
“Its resurfacing comes on the heels of a recall by China’s biggest milk producer by revenue, Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, last week,” said teh same Asia One report. “Batches of its baby formula were found to contain ‘unusual’ levels of mercury, in the country’s latest safety scare.”
This isn’t the first time a fake news has appeared online, and it certainly won’t be the last. As parents we need to ascertain for ourself whether or not the stories we read online are real.
Otherwise they will only lead us to believe in false accounts, and in the process give us unnecessary anxiety.
Before you start believing in a viral story, it is best that you do your part and verify the facts for yourself. Check if there are any major news outlet who has already covered it.
And in such cases as the Nestle recall, you can usually find more information straight from the source. Find out if the concerned party has a website or an official Facebook page where they can be reached out and asked for a comment.
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