Investigations have traced the contamination of baby milk sold in the EU to arachidonic acid oil imported from China.

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The European Commission announced tighter controls on Chinese imports of arachidonic acid oil from 26 February, after identifying the ingredient as the source of toxin contamination in baby formula that triggered global recalls.

Since December, major producers including Nestlé, Lactalis and Danone have recalled infant formula in 60 countries after tests detected cereulide, a toxin produced by the bacterium Bacillus cereus.

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Notifications through the EU’s food contamination alert system (RASFF), along with investigations by national authorities, traced the contamination to arachidonic acid oil imported from China and used in infant formula production, the Commission said on Tuesday.

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EU countries endorsed emergency measures on 20 February restricting imports of the oil, a spokesperson said.

These rules, which will be implemented from Thursday, require shipments to undergo checks at EU border control posts and to be accompanied by laboratory results and certification confirming the absence of the toxin.

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Experts say the infant formula crisis throws supply chain vulnerabilities into the spotlight.

Three of the world’s largest dairy groups – Nestlé, Danone, and privately owned Lactalis – [rely on a single] supplier reported to be a Chinese company, identified by the Agence France-Presse as Wuhan-based Cabio Biotech.

But how can so many of the world’s biggest companies be dependent on a single supplier for one ingredient? And what does this mean for the future supply chain shocks?

The crisis is just the latest in a series of global supply chain disruptions to hit the sector in recent years, some leading to severe health consequences and even fatalities.

It is well established that in our vast, complex food system, a single point of failure can arise from high dependency on one place for ingredient supplies. Vietnam, for instance, supplies around 80% of the world’s black pepper; in the event of a shock, such as drought that leads to a crop failure, these supply chains collapse.

Experts argue that manufacturers should diversify and further outsource quality control and testing, especially for highly sensitive ingredients; however, research is lacking on how to improve the resilience of infant formula supply chains.

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