Cocobella: Ten hospitalised by popular yoghurt contaminated with dangerous allergen
At least 10 people – including a two year old left struggling to breathe – have been hospitalised after eating a popular yoghurt brand.
Melbourne-based yoghurt company Cocobella urgently recalled all of its popular dairy-free products on Friday due to undeclared traces of milk.
Less than a week later, at least 10 people with dairy intolerances have been rushed to hospital due to the contaminated yoghurt.
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A Victorian father, Nate, claimed his two-year old son was struggling to breath after eating a Cocobella banana yoghurt.
“It was honestly the most traumatic experience of my wife’s and my lives,” Nate told 7News.
“He started snorting through his nose to try to get oxygen in. He had hives everywhere, his eyelids and lips were swollen, his whole body was red.
“At that point, my wife says that she honestly thought that we were about to lose him.”
The boy was hospitalised for anaphylaxis and eventually recovered after several hours.
“It was very clear because he had gone to sleep for his daytime nap, and then he woke up, he ate nothing, he drank nothing, except the Cocobella,” Nate said.
“We use it because it’s one of the only dairy replacement foods with high calcium we can safely give our kids, and that’s the food that nearly ended the lives of kids here in Australia.”
Another mother said her newborn suffered a severe allergic reaction from the yoghurt that stopped the baby’s feeding.
“I have a dairy protein allergic breastfed baby who has been unwell for days, may have to take her to ED today as she’s not kept fluids down,” she commented on Cocobella’s Instagram account.
“There are MANY mothers in this situation.”
In a separate incident, Melbourne mother Grace Kolo rushed her one-year-old son to hospital after he ate the contaminated yoghurt.
“In the beginning, for about 30 minutes, 40 minutes, he just kept sneezing, non-stop,” Ms Kolo told 7News.
The child quickly showed reaction symptoms, including coughing, itchy eyes and shortness of breath, she said.
“It looked like his body was trying to reject what was in there, so I called the ambulance straight away,” Ms Kolo said.
The mother said she would never buy Cocobella again.
“Definitely not, no. Not with a mistake like this,” Ms Kolo said.
“Really disappointed that we’ve put trust in them, and this is what’s happened.”
Cocobella said the majority of yoghurt product lines tested negative for the allergen but felt a wider recall was the best course of action.
“At this time, we are aware of 10 reports of hospital admissions that are suspected to have been caused by consumers with a milk allergy eating a Cocobella yoghurt product,” a Cocobella spokesperson said.
“We are in touch with all of those who have contacted us and are thankful everyone affected is now home.
“We’re deeply sorry to anyone who has become ill and are encouraging anyone else with concerns to contact us directly.“
Originally published as Ten hospitalised by popular yoghurt contaminated with dangerous allergen
