By Saturday, the recall was expanded<\/a> to include all Cocobella coconut yoghurt products, across all flavours and sizes.<\/p>\n Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today \u201cAny consumers who have a milk allergy or intolerance may have a reaction if the product is consumed,\u201d an alert from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) said.<\/p>\n However, by the time the recalls were issued, many people had already fallen ill \u2014 unaware the yoghurt was to blame.<\/p>\n Dad\u2019s frantic push for recall<\/p>\n When Victorian father Nate fed his two-year-old son a pouch of Cocobella banana yoghurt one ordinary Wednesday afternoon, he never expected it would end in a dash to hospital.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was honestly the most traumatic experience of my wife\u2019s and my lives,\u201d Nate told 7NEWS.com.au, asking to go by his nickname only.<\/p>\n Just 30 seconds after eating the yoghurt, the toddler began coughing.<\/p>\n Moments later, Nate heard his wife screaming as their son was showing signs of breathing difficulties.<\/p>\n \u201cHe started snorting through his nose to try to get oxygen in. He had hives everywhere, his eyelids and lips were swollen, his whole body was red,\u201d the father recalled.<\/p>\n \u201cAt that point, my wife says that she honestly thought that we were about to lose him.\u201d<\/p>\n Suspecting an allergic reaction, they gave him an antihistamine before rushing him to hospital, driving at 100km\/h.<\/p>\n Doctors treated his anaphylactic reaction with a shot of adrenaline, which helped him recover slowly over the next four hours.<\/p>\n Nate was certain Cocobella was the cause.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was very clear because he had gone to sleep for his daytime nap, and then he woke up, he ate nothing, he drank nothing, except the Cocobella,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But when Nate asked the hospital to report the incident to Victoria\u2019s Health Department, staff dismissed the suggestion that a dairy-free yoghurt could be to blame and declined to escalate the case.<\/p>\n So he took it into his own hands.<\/p>\n Despite being initially brushed off by the department, he continued calling, and finally received a call back about 7.30am on Thursday.<\/p>\n An officer told him the symptoms did suggest dairy contamination and confirmed an investigation would be launched.<\/p>\n \u201cSix hours later, he called me and said: \u2018Thank you so much, you\u2019ve saved lives by notifying us\u2019,\u201d Nate said.<\/p>\n He was told he was the first person to alert the department to the issue.<\/p>\n That afternoon, Food Standards Australia New Zealand issued the first recall alert.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s meant to be a safe food \u2014 it\u2019s dairy-free,\u201d Nate said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs allergy families, we use it because it\u2019s one of the only dairy replacement foods with high calcium we can safely give our kids. And that\u2019s the food that nearly ended the lives of kids here in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n Unexpected culprit<\/p>\n Nate was right: countless families had been affected by the contamination before the recall alerts were issued, and many never suspected the \u201cdairy-free\u201d yoghurt could be the cause.<\/p>\n Melbourne mother Grace Kolo had to call an ambulance last Monday for her one-year-old son, who had been eating Cocobella yoghurt every day, unaware it contained traces of dairy.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the beginning, for about 30 minutes, 40 minutes, he just kept sneezing, non-stop,\u201d the Caroline Springs mother told 7NEWS.com.au.<\/p>\n She then gave her son some Telfast, thinking it was hay fever, but the symptoms continued to escalate.<\/p>\n He began to cry constantly, became increasingly unsettled, and his existing skin rashes flared up.<\/p>\n Then came the coughing, difficulty swallowing, itchy eyes and shortness of breath.<\/p>\n \u201cIt looked like his body was trying to reject what was in there, so I called the ambulance straight away,\u201d Kolo said.<\/p>\n Even when paramedics asked if her son \u2014 who is allergic to dairy and egg \u2014 had eaten anything that might have triggered a reaction, Kolo didn\u2019t suspect the yoghurt.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously I said, no, because the yogurt is safe, right? It doesn\u2019t have dairy in it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t until friends sent her the recall alerts that she realised what had happened.<\/p>\n \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it \u2014 I just couldn\u2019t believe it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they showed me, I thought, \u2018This is why?\u2019 Because we were scratching our heads …<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just insane because it was just out of nowhere. We had no idea what was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n She now suspects the yoghurt may have also caused her son\u2019s ongoing skin flare-ups in the days prior.<\/p>\n A week later, he still had rashes across his body.<\/p>\n Kolo said she would never buy Cocobella again.<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely not, no. Not with a mistake like this,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cReally disappointed that we\u2019ve put trust in them, and this is what\u2019s happened.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd not happy that the initial recall was for only two specific dates and then two days later, they recalled everything. So potentially, I could have been giving him more.\u201d<\/p>\n Safe food turns harmful <\/p>\n For 40-year-old Melburnian Billy Jacobs (a nickname), the Cocobella contamination was another devastating blow in an already unimaginable health battle.<\/p>\n Jacobs lives with a severe medical condition caused by vitamin B6 toxicity, which has left him disabled, with widespread organ damage and a compromised gut.<\/p>\n He survives mostly on liquids and mushy foods \u2014 and Cocobella yoghurts were one of the few things he considered safe.<\/p>\n \u201cI was relying on that yoghurt to help me try to get calories in and nutrients, but instead it made me sicker,\u201d he told 7NEWS.com.au, only able to communicate via text due to his condition.<\/p>\n \u201c(It caused) more stomach issues, pain, breathing problems, dizzy (and) heavy headaches \u2026 nose, throat, chest …<\/p>\n \u201cI was already suffering, and this just made it 100 times worse. I didn\u2019t know why.\u201d<\/p>\n Jacobs said he had been eating the yoghurt regularly for weeks before stumbling across a Facebook post about the recall \u2014 moments after finishing another pouch.<\/p>\n That\u2019s when things started to make sense.<\/p>\n As someone cared for by his elderly mother, he describes life as \u201ca complete struggle\u201d \u2014 and now, he says, his health is \u201crapidly declining\u201d.<\/p>\n He has since stopped eating the yoghurt but said it made his condition significantly worse.<\/p>\n When his digestive system deteriorates, it causes more trouble with breathing, walking, talking \u2014 even functioning.<\/p>\n As of Tuesday, Jacobs said he was still feeling the effects.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only one that used to taste good was making me feel horrible,\u201d Jacobs said.<\/p>\n Cocobella has offered him a refund and asked for details of any immediate medical costs so it can \u201creview\u201d them \u2014 but Jacobs said it\u2019s far from enough.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t save my life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Suspiciously severe reaction<\/p>\n A 35-year-old NSW naturopath, who asked to remain anonymous, has raised concerns about the severity of the contamination after reading others\u2019 accounts online.<\/p>\n Being dairy intolerant herself, she experienced nerve pain, brain fog, and what felt like a concussion after eating Cocobella\u2019s vanilla yoghurt for breakfast on both Friday and Saturday.<\/p>\n She was still feeling foggy on Monday, which affected her ability to work.<\/p>\n \u201cNormally I\u2019d need a lot more dairy to create a reaction like that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I\u2019m just curious how much dairy was in it, and also if there was something else that happened with the contamination.\u201d<\/p>\n A long-time Cocobella customer, she said she wasn\u2019t angry at the brand but was eager to understand what went wrong and what had caused the contamination.<\/p>\n Cocobella told 7NEWS.com.au on Monday investigations into the cause of the issue were still ongoing.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the majority of product lines have tested negative to the allergen, we felt the wider recall was the best course of action to ensure public safety while we continue the investigation,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n All Cocobella coconut yoghurt products have now been recalled as the company works to determine when the contamination began.<\/p>\n According to Nate, who created a group chat for highly affected parents, multiple families have been impacted after eating the yoghurt.<\/p>\n Hundreds of people have also expressed their frustration over the reactions they experienced.<\/p>\n Cocobella confirmed it had received 10 reports of hospital admissions, suspected to be linked to people with a milk allergy consuming one of its yoghurt products.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are in touch with all of those who have contacted us, and are thankful everyone affected is now home,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re deeply sorry to anyone who has become ill, and are encouraging anyone else with concerns to contact us directly.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked about compensation, the company said: \u201cWe apologise unreservedly to anyone who has become ill after consuming one of our products. We are encouraging anyone else with concerns to contact us directly.<\/p>\n \u201cOur priority has been enacting the recall, alerting customers and communicating with impacted consumers directly.<\/p>\n \u201cWe unreservedly apologise for any health impacts, concern and inconvenience this has caused.<\/p>\n \u201cWe recognise the trust our customers place in us for their dietary and health choices. We are determined to understand how this issue occurred so we can ensure it cannot happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n FSANZ has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Popular yoghurts pulled from shelves in major Aussie recall<\/p>\n 1 min read<\/p>\n![\"Download](\"https:\/\/7news.com.au\/static\/media\/right-red-arrow.92bca5db.svg\"){kind=icon}
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Nate\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/30ddea849335708ad7eed91d32d24c785001c4db.jpg\")
Nate\u2019s son had severe reactions after eating Cocobella banana yoghurt on August 20. Credit: Nate<\/p>\n![\"Grace](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/6ad26d1d4d110694917629099297916d79af34f8.png\")
Grace Kolo\u2019s son was still covered in rashes one week after paramedics were called. Credit: Grace Kolo<\/p>\n![\"Kolo\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/fcc1b004ac019e2aa5148ab1553221cb2c0ad6ba.png\")
Kolo\u2019s son ate Cocobella yoghurt daily before the incident. Credit: Grace Kolo<\/p>\n![\"Cocobella](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/34d13381159a87ce3152f315eb73506991d7fb70.png\")
Cocobella yoghurts were one of the few things Billy Jacobs considered safe. Credit: Billy Jacobs<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/6859687320fa2112ed7b03ed12985083bc8f617b.jpg\")
A 35-year-old NSW naturopath fell ill after eating Cocobella\u2019s vanilla yoghurt for breakfast on both Friday and Saturday. Credit: Supplied\u2018We unreservedly apologise\u2019<\/p>\n