A Washington family has filed a product-liability lawsuit against Nara Organics, Inc. and Target Corporation after their infant son was hospitalized with botulism traced to recalled Nara Organics Whole Milk Organic Infant Formula. Food-safety law firm Marler Clark filed the suit July 25 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Tacoma Division, on behalf of parents Jin Nam and Jisun Lee, individually and as guardians of their son, identified in the complaint by his initials, I.N.
The Infant's Ordeal
I.N. was born March 1, 2026, and fed the Nara formula as his sole source of nutrition. His parents ordered six cans directly from Nara's website in mid-May and purchased two more from the Target store in Lacey, Washington. Around May 24, the infant began refusing feedings and became increasingly lethargic, with poor muscle tone and poor head control — classic early indicators of infant botulism. After an initial misdiagnosis of reflux at Kaiser Permanente on June 1, the family was directed to the emergency department at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma, where I.N. was admitted June 5 and diagnosed that night. He received BabyBIG, the antitoxin used to treat the disease, 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 testing of an opened can of the Nara formula fed to I.N. confirmed the presence of Clostridium botulinum, directly linking the product to the organism that paralyzed him. I.N. represents the Washington case in a four-infant, three-state outbreak that the FDA and CDC have connected to the Nara formula, with additional illnesses reported in California and Pennsylvania with onset dates in April and May 2026.
Supply Chain and Retailer Liability
Nara recalled its Whole Milk Organic Powdered Infant Formula on June 13, 2026. On June 26, the FDA reported that the recalled lots were produced using milk supplied by Organic West Milk and spray-dried into whole milk powder by Dairy Farmers of America — the same two suppliers implicated in the 2025 ByHeart infant botulism outbreak, which sickened 48 infants across 17 states. That supply-chain overlap sits at the center of the case against Target. The suit names the national retailer as a product seller under the Washington Product Liability Act, alleging Target knew or should have known that whole milk powder can harbor C. botulinum — a hazard the FDA flagged directly to retailers in its March 2023 "Call to Action" letter, further reinforced through its 2025 "Operation Stork Speed" testing initiative.
"Parents reached for the formula that promised the strictest safety standards in the world, and two of them bought it off a Target shelf — and it left their baby paralyzed and on a feeding tube," said Bill Marler, managing partner of Marler Clark. "The FDA warned this whole industry — manufacturers and retailers alike — that whole milk powder can carry botulism. Nobody gets to say they didn't see it coming."
Marketing Claims Under Scrutiny
The complaint also challenges Nara's marketing language. Nara promoted its product as the first and only USDA-certified organic whole-milk infant formula and, according to the complaint, told consumers the formula was "FDA-approved." The FDA does not approve infant formula before it goes to market. The lawsuit alleges those representations gave parents a false assurance of government safety vetting that never occurred — a distinction with significant implications for how food and infant-formula manufacturers communicate regulatory status to consumers.
The case adds to a growing legal and regulatory spotlight on infant formula safety, a category that has faced intense scrutiny since a 2022 manufacturing shutdown triggered widespread shortages. For retailers and foodservice procurement teams sourcing baby nutrition products, the lawsuit underscores the liability exposure that can attach to shelf placement decisions — particularly when federal agencies have issued documented warnings about ingredient-level hazards. Our food safety and supply chain coverage and broader restaurant and hospitality industry analysis continue to track how these regulatory developments shape purchasing and vendor-vetting practices across the industry.
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.
