Parents who have been using a Tommee Tippee bottle preparation machine have complained after finding black deposits inside pipes.
Huddersfield couple Daniel Howe and Kim Brook were shocked to discover black residue inside their £60 Perfect Prep Machine, which was investigated by the BBC’s Watchdog programme last year over claims the filter wasn’t working properly.
Daniel and Kim, of Dalton, have been using the machine for three months to prepare milk for baby Esme, who is four months old.
Daniel removed the back of the machine on Monday after seeing an online video posted by a product user who had discovered black deposits inside the machine.
“Our machine is only four months old but when I opened it up I discovered mould in the pipes,” said Daniel.
Daniel contacted Tommee Tippee who told him other customers had raised the issue.
The company says it believes the residue is not mould. It is advising parents who have found similar build-up to contact them as soon as possible so their machine and filter can be examined.
Daniel, 34, of Teddington Avenue, said: “The company needs to make people aware. The product should be recalled.”
In a statement, Tommee Tippee said: “Over the weekend, we’ve received comments from parents referring to the internal pipes of their Perfect Prep Machine not being clean.
“We’re concerned by the findings mentioned in the post and are investigating.
“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.
“Until they’ve been examined, it’s impossible to determine the exact cause.
“However, our preliminary investigation has found two things.
“Firstly, the build-up we’ve seen so far we suspect is carbon residue and not mould. 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.”
Parents can contact Tommee Tippee’s Careline on 0500 97 98 99.
