US health regulators yesterday issued an embarrassing warning to Nestlé, the world’s largest food company, over the health standards of its baby foods.

America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said an analysis of Nestlé’s baby food, Good Start Infant Formula with Iron, had found a breach of US regulations governing minimum levels of certain nutrients.

A letter from the FDA, dated November 27 and posted on the agency’s website, said that its analysis of the liquid concentrate formula collected in May did not meet US minimum requirements for calcium and phosphorus. The FDA has set a deadline of 15 days for the company to respond.

Nestlé has rejected the FDA’s claims, saying that its own analysis has identified the correct levels of nutrients in the formula.

The company said: “We are working with the FDA to better understand how issues relating to analytical testing methods might explain the differences noted in these two nutrients.”

The FDA issues many such warning letters to food manufacturers, which are mostly resolved without penalty. However, it has powers to issue fines and confiscate products.

For Nestlé, the FDA’s warning has also raised unwelcome memories of the scandal over its aggressive marketing in the 1980s of baby milk in the developing world. It comes as Nestlé is keen to expand its presence in the booming infant nutrition market and is seeking to buy US-based Gerber, a leading baby foods brand, from Novartis, the Swiss drugs group.

Novartis announced yesterday that Nestlé had acquired its medical nutrition arm for $2.5 billion (£1.27 billion) and some observers had expected that Gerber would be included in the same deal. Both Swiss groups declined to comment.