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For information on submitting an obituary, please contact Reading Eagle by phone at 610-371-5018, or email at obituaries@readingeagle.com or fax at 610-371-5193. Most obituaries published in the Reading Eagle are submitted through funeral homes and cremation services, but we will accept submissions from families. Obituaries can be emailed to obituaries@readingeagle.com. In addition to the text of the obituary, any photographs that you wish to include can be attached to this email. Please put the text of the obituary in a Word document, a Google document or in the body of the email. The Reading Eagle also requires a way to verify the death, so please include either the phone number of the funeral home or cremation service that is in charge of the deceased's care or a photo of his/her death certificate. We also request that your full name, phone number and address are all included in this email. All payments by families must be made with a credit card. We will send a proof of the completed obituary before we require payment. The obituary cannot run, however, until we receive payment in full. Obituaries can be submitted for any future date, but they must be received no later than 3:00 p.m. the day prior to its running for it to be published. Please call the obituary desk, at 610-371-5018, for information on pricing. A manufacturer of organic infant formula is recalling all of its products sold in the U.S. amid an outbreak of infant botulism cases. ByHeart has a manufacturing facility in Exeter Township, Berks County — a facility that opened in 2022. The company announced on Tuesday that it was expanding its voluntary recall that initially began over the weekend. It now includes all of its formula sold in the U.S. — including both its ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula and Anywhere Pack pouches of powdered formula. The company sells about 200,000 cans of infant formula a month online and in stores such as Target, Walmart, Albertsons and Whole Foods, the Associated Press attributed to Dr. Devon Kuehn, chief medical officer. The action is being taken in close collaboration with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the company said in a letter to customers posted on its website Tuesday. ByHeart is urging customers to discontinue use of the product and discard what they have. “It’s important that you know that neither we, nor the FDA or CDC, have found Clostridium botulinum spores or toxins in any unopened can of ByHeart formula,” founders Mia Funt and Ron Belldegrun wrote in the posted letter. A California health official said the outbreak started in August and has sickened at least 15 infants in 12 states, the AP reported. That’s an increase from 13 cases in 10 states that were reported on Saturday. No deaths have been reported. ByHeart’s decision to broaden its recall came after a call with the FDA Monday night informing the company of the additional cases, founders Funt and Belldegrun wrote. “The FDA’s investigation into infant botulism in the U.S. is still ongoing, and we feel that there are still too many unanswered questions. Your baby’s safety is, and always will be, our biggest priority,” the company’s letter to customers read. Company officials were not immediately available for comment on Tuesday. ByHeart began testing its product once the company learned about the outbreak on Friday. In addition, the company is providing the FDA with unrestricted access to its facilities and products for its investigation. California officials confirmed a sample from an open can of ByHeart baby formula that fed to an infant who fell ill contained the type of bacteria that causes the toxin linked to the outbreak, the AP reported. The FDA recommended that ByHeart expand its recall because of the number of ill infants who consuming the formula, the identification of additional lot codes, the growing case count and the results of the California testing, according to the reporting. The FDA is investigating 84 cases of infant botulism detected since August. Of those, 36 consumed formula. Thirteen of them consumed ByHeart’s formula. In an open letter to the FDA posted to its website Monday, ByHeart said once it learned of the spike in infant botulism cases, it recalled the relevant batches within 24 hours and launched its own independent testing with a third-party laboratory, saying the company stands ready to work with the agency. Infant botulism affects fewer than 200 babies in the U.S. each year and is caused by a bacterium that reduces toxins in the large intestine, according to Associated Press reporting. Treatment for the infection is known as BabyBIG, an IV medication made from blood plasma of people immunized against botulism, the AP reports. Funt and Belldegrun founded ByHeart in 2016 — one of only five formula-makers in the U.S. In April 2022, the company officially opened its first location — an FDA-registered research and manufacturing facility at 61 Vanguard Road in Exeter Township. Gov. Tom Wolf was joined by state officials to mark the occasion. ByHeart also produces formula powder at a plant in Allerton, Iowa, and then ships it to a site in Portland, Ore., for canning and distribution. FDA inspectors were at the Portland plant Monday, the AP reported.
