An investigation is still ongoing after a mum found a sewing needle in baby food she was preparing for her daughter.

Shakayla, who was six-weeks old at the time, had already had a bottle made up with the Cow & Gate anti-reflux formula when Julie Wakeling discovered the metal spike on November 20.

It was a new tin which she had brought only half an hour earlier from a Sittingbourne supermarket.

Shocked, she made a complaint and returned the product, with the needle still inside it, to the company.

A spokesman said: “We were concerned to hear from Miss Wakeling about her complaint. The pack and needle Miss Wakeling sent us are now being investigated at our laboratory.

“From our initial examinations, we believe the needle to be a sewing needle.

“As part of our quality controls systems, all our sealed packs of milk are X-rayed before they leave our factory.

“We have now repeatedly tested the pack and needle on our X-ray machine and the pack was immediately rejected each time.

“For this reason we are confident that the needle did not originate from our factory. "However, we will continue our investigations and provide Miss Wakeling with a full report.

“We can reassure parents that this is an isolated incident and we have not received any similar complaints for any other Cow & Gate product.

“Cow & Gate are committed to manufacturing high-quality baby foods and parents can continue to use our products with confidence.”