Nara’s Whole Milk Supply Chain

Published: June 23, 2026

Nara’s Whole Milk Supply Chain 

At Nara, we’ve always been science-backed and transparent. For that reason, we want to share details of our whole milk supply chain. Formula companies usually keep this information confidential, but we feel that it’s important for our customers to know.

Since July 2025, we have been sourcing whole milk from an EU organic dairy. Finding this supplier took time because it’s rare for an EU dairy to also be USDA organic certified (USDA organic dairy requirements are stricter than EU requirements). We also had to register our supplier with the FDA, which is a rigorous process. 

From October 2024 to April 2025, we purchased whole milk from Organic West, a U.S. organic whole milk supplier, and that milk was turned into milk powder at Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), a leading spray dryer in Nevada. Many dairy brands, including infant formula manufacturers, process whole and nonfat milk-based ingredients at DFA. 

When we learned from media reports in early 2026 that Organic West and DFA supplied ByHeart, we immediately began a rigorous review to determine the safety of Nara’s existing formula containing Organic West milk. 

The assessment determined that Nara formula met or exceeded all the microbiological and other contaminant safety requirements of the FDA and EU. Based on, amongst other factors, large amounts of consistent testing data, it was determined that Nara formula could stay on the market. 

• We confirmed that the whole milk powder used in our formula did not overlap with the lots of whole milk powder used by ByHeart in their infant formula. 
• Because we export USDA organic milk into the EU, our whole milk powder was required to meet additional, more stringent, bacterial standards.  
• We analyzed test results for spore-forming bacteria and production hygiene indicators. 
• Independent third-party testing confirmed that all batches of Nara Organics formula met all microbiological and other contaminant safety requirements of the FDA. It also met EU food safety standards. 
• The International Commission on Microbiological Specifications on Food (ICMSF) recommends Sulfite-Reducing Clostridia (SRC) testing to screen for c. botulinum. They set a suggested maximum level of <100 CFU/g for SRC. 
• In our analysis, we confirmed that all of Nara’s SRC test results (across every batch of formula) have been ≤10 CFU/g — at least 10x lower than the ICMSF specification. 10 CFU/g is the limit of detection for SRC screening.

From the beginning, Nara has followed the testing protocols recommended by multiple expert bodies, including the FDA, the EU, and ICMSF.

Nara’s Supply Chain Today and Moving Forward

We have been sourcing whole milk from an EU organic dairy since July 2025. Making infant formula takes a substantial amount of time — almost a year from the time we place a purchase order to a milk source showing up in the formula that customers purchase. (This is typical across formula manufacturers.) Our most recent batches of Nara formula were made with our EU dairy source and were not yet available for sale at the time of our voluntary recall. 

Because our formula is made in Germany, we’ve always been working toward a fully EU supply chain. Once we are back on the market, we plan to continue with our EU whole milk supplier, which we have been using since July 2025. 

While we await the results of the FDA’s testing, it's important to remember that, to date, there have been no positive tests or evidence of c. botulinum in Nara’s formula supply chain, and the FDA has not yet determined a root cause of the ByHeart outbreak. 

We will be in touch with more information as soon as we have it.