A spokesman at Abbott Nutrition International said on Wednesday in Chicago that its voluntary recall of certain Similac brand powder infant formulas did not affect China market.

Steven B. Collens, director and head of public affairs at Abbott Nutrition International, told Xinhua in an exclusive telephone interview, "Consumers in China should be assured that no products distributed locally by Abbott Nutrition are affected by the recent proactive, voluntary recall of some Abbott Nutrition products in the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam and some countries in the Caribbean."

Collens further explained that Abbott initiated this recall due to a situation that was isolated to one production area in a single manufacturing facility in the United States. Abbott is recalling these products following an internal quality review.

The recall of these powder infant formulas includes: Certain Similac powder product lines offered in plastic containers and certain Similac powder product lines offered in sizes such as 8-ounce, 12.4-ounce and 12.9-ounce cans. No Abbott liquid infant formulas are impacted.

The company is implementing a plan to address this matter in the affected manufacturing facility, which is expected to be completed shortly. No other facilities or products are involved in this recall. Abbott has consulted with the US FDA regarding this recall.

Holger Liepmann, vice executive president of Abbott Nutrition, said "Abbott understands that parents expect to feed their children only the highest quality product. We are taking this action so that parents know that the infant formula products they provide unquestionably meet the highest quality standards for which they are known. We regret any inconvenience this situation poses to parents and consumers."

Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company employs nearly 90,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries.