A Washington state family filed a federal product-liability lawsuit Friday against Nara Organics, Inc. and Target Corporation after laboratory testing confirmed Clostridium botulinum in the recalled Nara Whole Milk Organic Powdered Infant Formula fed to their infant son — the same whole milk powder supply chain that the FDA linked to 48 illnesses in the 2025 ByHeart botulism outbreak.

The suit was filed July 25 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Tacoma Division, by Marler Clark, the food-safety law firm, on behalf of Jin Nam and Jisun Lee, individually and as guardians of their son, identified in the complaint by his initials, I.N.

The Contamination Trail

According to the complaint, I.N. was born March 1, 2026, and was fed Nara formula as his sole source of nutrition. His parents purchased six cans directly from Nara's website in mid-May 2026 and two additional cans from a Target store in Lacey, Washington. By May 24, the infant had begun refusing feedings and exhibited progressive lethargy, poor muscle tone, and poor head control — hallmark early signs of infant botulism.

After an initial misdiagnosis of reflux at Kaiser Permanente on June 1, the family was redirected to the emergency department at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma, where he was admitted June 5 and diagnosed with infant botulism that night. He received BabyBIG antitoxin on June 6 and was discharged June 16 still requiring a feeding tube. Weeks after discharge, he remained unable to hold his head up unassisted.

Laboratory analysis of an opened can of the formula confirmed the presence of C. botulinum, directly linking the product to the organism responsible for the infant's paralysis. The Washington case is one of four illnesses across three states — California, Pennsylvania, and Washington — that the FDA and CDC have tied to Nara formula, with onset dates in April and May 2026.

Supply Chain and Regulatory Failures

Nara recalled its Whole Milk Organic Powdered Infant Formula on June 13, 2026. On June 26, the FDA disclosed that the recalled lots were manufactured with milk supplied by Organic West Milk and spray-dried into whole milk powder by Dairy Farmers of America — the same two suppliers identified in the 2025 ByHeart outbreak, which ultimately sickened 48 infants across 17 states.

The supply-chain overlap is central to the lawsuit's allegations against Target. The complaint asserts that Target, as a sophisticated national retailer of infant formula, knew or should have known of the botulism risk associated with whole milk powder — a hazard the FDA flagged directly to retailers in its March 2023 "Call to Action" letter, reiterated through its 2025 "Operation Stork Speed" testing initiative, and made unmistakable by the widely reported ByHeart outbreak — yet continued to stock and sell the product.

"The FDA warned this whole industry — manufacturers and retailers alike — that whole milk powder can carry botulism," said Bill Marler, managing partner of Marler Clark and lead attorney for the family. "The same milk and the same milk powder that sickened dozens of ByHeart babies turned up in this formula. Nobody gets to say they didn't see it coming."

The complaint also challenges Nara's marketing representations. Nara promoted its product as the first and only USDA-certified organic whole-milk infant formula and, according to the complaint, told consumers it was "FDA-approved" — a claim that has no regulatory basis, as the FDA does not pre-approve infant formula. The suit alleges those representations gave parents a false assurance of government safety vetting that never occurred.

For the seafood and aquatic-protein supply chain, the case reinforces scrutiny of spray-dried dairy and animal-protein powder ingredients used across specialty food categories, including certain aquaculture feeds and blended protein products subject to FDA recall and food-safety enforcement. Whole milk powder's documented C. botulinum risk has drawn comparisons to anaerobic-environment contamination risks long studied in smoked and processed seafood products.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.