Havelock North-based Weleda recalls products for first time in 63 years

Weleda has had to recall Baby Teething Powder and Baby Colic Powder after finding traces of plastic in some of the products. Photo / Supplied.

A recall of a Hawke's Bay company's baby pharmaceutical products is having a "big impact" on it.

Weleda identified potentially small "slivers" of plastic which could pose a choking hazard in its Baby Teething Powder and Baby Colic Powder.

The Havelock North-based company which has been manufacturing products in New Zealand for 63 years, recalled all batches manufactured from October 2018.

"All batches of Baby Teething Powder and Baby Colic Powder manufactured by Weleda from October 2018 potentially have small (less than 1cm long), soft, slivers of white plastic peel off the jar cap when first opening," the notice said.

"The slivers present a potential for physical contamination of the powder with plastic when opening the jar and may constitute a choking hazard.

"This is due to the cap tightness of fit in the jars."

The recall was a precautionary measure, and there had been no complaints of babies choking, the company said.

A Weleda spokesperson said the recall had required it to redirect the majority of internal resources to support the recall process.

"We are a small company so it has had a big impact on staff, especially those who worked tirelessly throughout Easter to assist with consumer and retailer queries.

"Whilst it is too early to ascertain financial effect, fortunately we have many consumers who love Weleda and we hope they will continue to do so."

The affected products would have been distributed across New Zealand with the company identifying the fault during quality control testing on April 3, and issued an Urgent Medicine Recall on April 18.

Anybody who had purchased potentially affected products between October 2018 and April 2019 should stop using them, and return them to Weleda NZ or the retailer they were purchased from, for a refund.