Gerber Baby Cereal Recalled Over Choking Hazard

Friday, July 13th 2007, 7:53 pm

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Gerber Products Co. recalled all packages of its organic rice and organic oatmeal cereals Friday because of potential clumping of the baby food, which can pose a choking hazard.

Gerber said it has received complaints of choking but no reports of injury.

The company said a ``limited quantity'' of the cereals could contain lumps that do not dissolve in water or milk. The cereals were distributed nationwide and to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

Food and Drug Administration compliance officer Sandra Williams said the agency was aware of the voluntary recall ``and we concur.''

Gerber spokesman David Mortazavi said the company was recalling 306,760 packages of organic rice cereal and 167,724 packages of organic oatmeal cereal.

All codes of the two products, sold in 8-ounce boxes, are being recalled. The organic rice cereal UPC code is 15000 12504 and the organic oatmeal cereal UPC code is 15000 12502.

The baby food should be not be eaten, and customers can call the Gerber parents resource center at 800-443-7237 or 231-928-3000 to return the product and receive a full refund.

Gerber dominates the U.S. baby-food market, with the company holding a 79 percent share, according to Morgan Stanley.

In April, Switzerland's Novartis AG agreed to sell Gerber to Nestle SA for $5.5 billion. Gerber is based in Parsippany, N.J.