A product liability case may be in the early stages this week with the issuance of a warning by the Food and Drug Administration that Mommy’s Bliss Nipple Cream, marketed by MOM Enterprises Inc. of San Rafael, California, is a serious danger to nursing babies. Products connected to infant tend to bring the fastest and most costly litigation — as MOM may soon discover.
The cream is used to ease the irritation for nursing mothers but has been found to potentially cause , respiratory distress, vomiting and diarrhea in infants. The cream contains both chlorphenesin and phenoxyethanol. MOM has pulled the product from the shelves.
It is rare to see such a major blunder in an infant product in the United States. The FDA makes it sound like these chemicals are well-known as dangers when combined — particularly to infants.
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I read this statement of reply from the manufacturer:
“Apparently the FDA had conducted an assessment of the product in early October but only contacted the company about two weeks ago. This is extremely troubling since it has taken the FDA over 6 months to inform us of the results of this assessment.
As soon as the FDA informed us of their concern 10 days ago, we immediately and voluntarily stopped selling and marketing the product.
The product has been on the market for over a year and there have no consumer complaints. On the contrary, the feedback on the product has been very positive.
The FDA also neglected to mention that the amount of chlorphenesin and phenoxyethanol in the product is minute relative to what is considered allowable for adults. Both chlorphenesin and phenoxyethanol are approved cosmetic preservatives and used extensively in many products.”
… so the spin is that the FDA is the one who fell down on the job and maliciously withheld information from both the public and the company, doing the most harm.
I was trying to figure out if this was sold at any major retailers, who probably have deeper pockets than this manufacturer. Fortunately, MOM Enterprises is making it easy on the lawyers by continuing to list the independent vitamin stores, baby boutiques, and natural foods stores that they sold the product to right on their site.