Infant formula

Average price reductions of 15% in certain product categories, due to the government's measures, have been recorded since March 1, Development Minister Kostas Skrekas told Skai TV on Wednesday.

Since Friday, infant formula has been between 5% and 16% cheaper than it was up until Thursday, while a series of other commodities also saw their retail prices drop as a result of the ceiling imposed on gross profit margins by the Development Ministry.

Parents in Greece pay for baby formula up to three times as much as in other European countries including countries like Finland and Sweden, according to a price survey carried out in November in three price collections by Greece's Competition Commission, a finding that shows that the market in question is anything but operating competitively in Greece.

The prices of baby formula in Greece are significantly higher compared to other European countries, based on a price comparison survey carried out by the country's Hellenic Competition Commission in November.

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the Abbott Laboratories infant formula plant in Michigan that was shut down for months last year due to contamination, the company confirmed.

Production resumed Saturday at an Abbott Nutrition baby formula plant in the US whose closure helped fuel a crippling nationwide shortage.

The facility in Sturges, Michigan has met initial government sanitary requirements for reopening, the company said in a statement.

Capri Isidoro broke down in tears sitting on a chair at the office of a lactation consultant. The mother of two had been struggling to breastfeed her 1-month-old daughter ever since she was born, when the hospital gave the baby formula first without consulting her on her desire to breastfeed.

A salmonella scandal at French dairy group Lactalis has affected 83 countries, where 12 million boxes of powdered baby milk are being recalled, the company’s CEO said on Jan. 14 in an interview with French media.     

The Hellenic Food Authority (EFET) has ordered a market recall of a batch of potato chips from the Netherlands because they were found to contain foreign particles in the form of hard plant parts.

The Trafo potato chips were manufactured by Dutch company FZ Organic Food.

France has banned the sale and ordered a recall of several baby formula milk and baby food products made by French dairy giant Lactalis after the discovery of salmonella bacteria, consumer protection agency DGCCRF said in a statement on Sunday.