佩里戈出售婴儿配方奶粉业务：ByHeart创始人新公司接手，联邦众议员德劳罗提出严重质疑
佩里戈公司（Perrigo）10月29日宣布，已达成最终协议，将旗下婴儿配方奶粉业务出售给MeridianMade公司，交易对价最高1.75亿美元，其中4,000万美元在交割时以现金支付，其余最高1.35亿美元与2030年前的业绩里程碑挂钩。MeridianMade是一家专注于婴儿营养的美国本土合同制造平台，今年7月由Ron Belldegrun与Mia Funt创立——两人正是婴儿配方奶粉品牌ByHeart的联合创始人。
这笔交易随即在国会引发质疑。联邦众议员罗莎·德劳罗（Rosa DeLauro）发表声明说：「ByHeart曾处于近年最严重的婴儿配方奶粉安全事件之一的中心。17个州的48名婴儿因ByHeart的配方奶粉患病，每一名都住进了医院。」她指出，ByHeart的配方奶粉已经停产，美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）已把污染追溯到供应链中的一种原料，但细菌的确切来源仍未查清，根本原因至今没有确定，「家长们仍然不知道孩子的奶粉是如何、何时、又到底在哪里被污染的」。
德劳罗还对市场集中度表示担忧。她说，美国婴儿配方奶粉市场如今比2022年那场短缺危机时更加集中——当年家长们不得不去二手平台为孩子找奶粉。她表示，虽然庆幸雅培、美赞臣等行业巨头没有收购佩里戈的这块业务，但她「对这笔收购仍有严重疑问」，并强调ByHeart停产其配方奶粉并不意味着安全追问可以停止，「在他们继续扩张之前，家长们理应得到答案」。
婴儿肉毒杆菌事件的调查此前已经结案：疾控中心确认共48例病例，其中确诊28例、可能病例20例，分布在17个州，患儿年龄在16天至264天之间，全部住院接受治疗，所幸无人死亡。FDA的溯源调查在一家供应商提供的有机全脂奶粉原料中检出了肉毒杆菌，但未能确定污染的根本原因。
佩里戈方面表示，出售配方奶粉业务是其「聚焦消费者自我护理产品」战略的一部分。截至2026年6月27日的四个季度里，该业务净销售额为3.8亿美元。交易完成前，佩里戈将继续独立运营这块业务，交易预计在2027年上半年完成，尚需满足惯常交割条件并获得监管批准。交割前两家公司仍将各自独立运营，佩里戈称将保持对安全、质量与稳定供应的同等重视。
（来源：佩里戈公司、美国国会众议员罗莎·德劳罗办公室）
Perrigo Sells Infant Formula Business to ByHeart Founders' New Company: Rep. DeLauro Raises Serious Questions
Perrigo Company plc announced on October 29 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its infant formula business to MeridianMade for total consideration of up to $175 million, consisting of $40 million in cash at closing and up to an additional $135 million contingent on performance milestones through 2030. MeridianMade, an American contract manufacturing platform dedicated to infant nutrition, was founded in July by Ron Belldegrun and Mia Funt — the co-founders of the infant formula brand ByHeart.
The deal quickly drew scrutiny in Congress. U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro released a statement saying: 'ByHeart was at the center of one of the most serious infant formula safety issues in recent memory. 48 babies across 17 states were sickened by ByHeart's formula, and every one of them hospitalized.' She noted that ByHeart's formula has since been discontinued and that while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) traced the contamination to an ingredient in the supply chain, the exact origin of the bacteria remains unresolved and no root cause has been identified. 'Families still do not know how, when or exactly where their children's formula became contaminated,' she said.
DeLauro also warned about market consolidation, saying the U.S. infant formula market is even more concentrated than it was during the 2022 shortage that left families turning to online marketplaces to feed their children. While she said she was grateful that industry giants Abbott and Mead Johnson were not acquiring Perrigo's business, she said she still has 'serious questions about this acquisition,' adding that ByHeart discontinuing its formula does not end the search for answers on safety: 'Before they continue to expand, parents deserve answers.'
The infant botulism investigation has since closed with 48 cases — 28 confirmed and 20 probable — across 17 states. The infants ranged in age from 16 to 264 days; all were hospitalized and treated, and no deaths were reported. FDA's investigation identified Clostridium botulinum in an organic powdered milk ingredient supplied to the company, but did not determine a root cause for the contamination.
Perrigo said the divestiture advances its evolution into a more focused consumer self-care company. The infant formula business generated net sales of $380 million in the trailing four quarters ended June 27, 2026. Until closing, Perrigo will continue to own and operate the business, and the two companies will operate independently. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
(Source: Perrigo Company plc; Office of U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro)
来源：佩里戈公司、美国国会众议员罗莎·德劳罗办公室
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：联邦众议员罗莎·德劳罗官方肖像（公共领域），经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Official portrait of U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.
GSM Global · 本篇英文版 English edition of this story
