1. Write a brief overall summary of your findings.
Though the recall and cases of botulism were real, as verified on the ByHeart website and the FDA, the concern over impact on baby formula supply is exaggerated. According to the FDA, ByHeart formula only makes up 1% of all infant formula in the US and this recall of ByHeart formula “does not create shortage concerns of infant formula for parents and caregivers.”
ByHeart did participate in a program where they donated cans of formula to 23 different organizations, but in the entire 3 year run of the program prior to the recall, they only distributed a bit under 24,000 cans of formula. Though this does pose a risk to the families who were given those cans of formula, and a few cases of the botulism were directly traced to formula acquired at food banks, this is a fairly small amount of formula spread across many different organizations spread across 3 years and is unlikely to cause any kind of shortages for food banks.I was unable to find any cases of food banks ending up with a formula supply issue due to this recall.
2. What primary sources did you find (e.g., transcripts, videos of politician speeches, tweets from public figures, scientific studies)? For each source, write at least one or two sentences explaining what you learned. Include all links.
https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-infant-botulism-infant-formula-november-2025 - FDA investigation and report on the outbreak and recall
https://byheart.com/pages/important-recall-information?srsltid=AfmBOoq8l-XaqvNz_zxlhjt30C9_B01fL5gXl3B_mmE0S6gh9phlgu6Z - ByHeart’s announcement of recall
3. What secondary sources did you find (e.g., newspapers, magazines)? Only use secondary sources if sufficient primary sources are not available. For each source, write at least one or two sentences explaining what you learned. Include all links.
https://www.healthbeat.org/2025/11/13/byheart-baby-formula-recall-homeless/ - Article which provides more information on the scope of ByHearts donation program
5. What evidence supports the claim you are fact-checking?
The FDA and official announcement back up the claim of the outbreak and recall. The HealthBeat article also provides some credence to the claim that due to ByHeart’s donation program this recall may lead to formula shortages in foodbanks
6. What evidence undermines the claim you are fact-checking?
The FDA’s assurance that ByHeart makes up a very small portion of the market and the fairly small amount of formula cans donated lead to the conclusion that though this may have a significant impact on families who have already received the formula, it won’t cause greater supply issues for formula in food banks.
