Tommee Tippee has launched an investigation after parents across the UK have claimed one of the company’s milk machines becomes filled with a hidden build-up of a “mould-like” slimy substance.
The parents, who have been posting their concerns on the brand’s Facebook page, say they are finding the internal plastic tubing in the ‘Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep’ machine is “black with grime”.
“I am disgusted by what I just discovered,” Julie Hughes wrote.
“I have changed the filter etc and cleaned as advised.
“I trusted your company and machine. I trusted your machine to deliver what was promised.”
The machine is used to make formula milk for babies and is popular with parents because it is able to produce a heated bottle in under two minutes without boiling the kettle.
Some parents have connected their children being ill with the black substance, Julia Herd said: “I’m sure it won’t have been helping when her immune system was already weakened! Furious.”
Other mums were just concerned that they had been using the machine without knowing about the build-up.
A spokesperson for Tommee Tippee told The Huffington Post UK that an investigation has been started, saying: “We were very concerned by these findings and started an immediate investigation.
“To help us, we’d like any parents who have found similar build-up in their ‘Perfect Preps’ to contact us as soon as possible, so we can arrange to have their machine and filter returned to us via freepost for examination by an independent laboratory.”
The investigations has not yet been able to determine the exact cause, but preliminary examinations have drawn too conclusions.
“Firstly, the build-up we’ve seen so far we suspect is carbon residue and not mould,” the spokesperson explained.
“Carbon is a harmless, inert bi-product of the filtration process. Secondly, some parents have told us they’ve used ordinary water jug filters instead of the Tommee Tippee filters.
“Standard filters do not contain the ultra-filtration membrane needed to remove bacteria, plus are more likely to release carbon into the system.
“Although we can’t be certain until we’ve received back and examined more machines, it is possible these factors are linked to what people are seeing. However, the investigation will continue until we’ve found answers.”
Other parents also shared pictures of their machines, without any discolouration in the tubing, saying they are happy with the product.
Anyone with any questions or concerns can contact Tommee Tippee via their careline on 0500 97 98 99 or the Facebook page.