One lot of a baby sleep gripe water sold online, including on Amazon, has been recalled after FDA testing found alcohols that are not listed on the label.
Story Snapshot
- The recalled product is Babies’ Magic Tea Baby Sleep Gripe Water, lot 25122bw, best before December 2028.
- FDA testing found about 8.3% ethanol, 0.35% methanol and 0.48% isopropanol, none of them on the label.
- It comes in a 4-ounce amber bottle inside a blue box with an oral syringe, and was sold through SecretsOfTea.com and Amazon.
- The company says no illnesses have been reported from this lot.
- Parents should stop using it and throw it out or return it for a refund.
Why This Baby Product Was Pulled
Pacific Health Sciences, the company behind the product, announced the voluntary recall, and the FDA posted the notice on Wednesday, Oct. 7, after the agency’s own tests found three alcohols in the bottles. Ethanol is the same alcohol found in beer and wine. Methanol, often called wood alcohol, is used in fuels and solvents. Isopropanol is rubbing alcohol. The FDA says their presence “may pose a risk depending on the amount consumed and the age and body weight of the person using the product.”
Gripe water is a liquid that many parents and grandparents give babies for gas, colic or fussiness. This one is sold as a dietary supplement, a category that does not need FDA approval before it goes on sale. Because the bottles are good until December 2028, any that were bought may still be in medicine cabinets and diaper bags.
What The Recall Notice Says About The Risk
According to the recall notice, alcohols like these “are known to impair normal functioning of the central nervous system,” and “infant ethanol exposure has been linked to long-term developmental consequences.” The notice says the amounts recommended on the package can cause drowsiness, poor coordination, nausea, vomiting and stomach pain in the person who takes it.
The notice adds that larger amounts can raise the risk of respiratory depression, which means dangerously slowed breathing, along with other serious health effects. The company says it has received no reports of anyone getting sick from this lot so far. A baby who shows any symptoms after taking it should be seen by a doctor right away.
How To Check Your Bottle
Look for these details:
- Name: Babies’ Magic Tea Baby Sleep Gripe Water
- Size: 4 fluid ounces (about 118 mL) in an amber bottle, packed in a blue cardboard box with an oral syringe
- Lot number: 25122bw, printed on the bottom of the box and on a side panel of the bottle
- Best before: 12/2028
The recall covers only that one lot. A lot number is the code a maker prints on each batch so a problem can be traced to the bottles made at the same time. The product was shipped to Secrets of Tea, which sold it through online stores, including its own site, SecretsOfTea.com, and Amazon.
What Parents And Grandparents Should Do
If your bottle matches, stop using it. Throw it away or return it to the place you bought it for a full refund.
Questions can go to Pacific Health Sciences at 310-457-1775, Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time, or by email at [email protected]. Bad reactions can also be reported to MedWatch, the FDA’s safety reporting program, online at www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm or by calling 1-800-332-1088 for a paper form.
The FDA did its job here: it tested the product, found the problem and put out a clear, narrow notice that tells families exactly which bottle to check. If you bought gripe water online for a baby in your family, take a minute to look at the box.
Sources:
fox9.com, abcnews.com, content.govdelivery.com