New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra continues to monitor the condition of a sixth-month-old baby girl who shouted in pain and fell ill after eating a dessert topped with cream possibly contaminated with E.coli bacteria.

The baby's mother, Marissa Beesley, said she became ill after eating pudding with cream while visiting some relatives in Kaitaia. Aside from her and the baby, Ms Beesley's eldest and 5-year-old daughter Ashley also got sick after eating the dessert.

Doctors who checked on the baby told Ms. Beesley that she was "full of bacteria." Reports said Fonterra is aware of the case and were observing the developments closely.

The baby was the first member of the family to have gotten sick from eating the cream. Ms Beesley and her older daughter soon became sick after a few days. She told media her baby got sick five days ago and she didn't know the reason.

Ms Beesley took her baby to the hospital and was told to go home because "it was a bug." Her baby's condition went from bad to worse at home. They went to see a doctor the next morning since her baby started screaming.

The doctor ordered a blood test and discovered the baby had bacteria in her body. Ms Beesley saw an update on TV about Fonterra's recall. She went back to the doctor and was told the bacteria could possibly be E.coli. They were waiting for the test results to confirm suspicions.

In an interview, Ms Beesley said she didn't know the batch number of the cream used to make the pudding but she remembered the "best before date" since her partner always checked food expiration dates.

A Fonterra representative contacted Ms Beesley and asked her several questions but told her the bottle of cream she purchased may have been contaminated with bacteria.

Her baby is currently on antibiotics and showed signs of recovery.

Peter McClure, managing director of Fonterra Brands NZ, stated that the company is concerned about the baby's condition and continues to wait with the family for the results of the test. The company had received 17 calls from people who reported being sick after consuming fresh cream. Four of the calls were related to the recalled batch.

Fonterra is still investigating the origin of the contamination and has narrowed down 19 plants in New Zealand as possible sources.

Food safety in New Zealand is again in the spotlight after Fonterra announced a recall of 8,700 bottles of fresh cream. The dairy giant began a voluntary recall after quality tests revealed the possible contamination of E.Coli bacterium.

RELATED STORIES