GERMAN HUMANA MILK UNION MANAGING DIRECTOR GROSSE POSES IN FRONT OF FACTORY IN HERFORD, 2003...

Albert Grosse Frie, managing director of the German company Humana Milk Union, poses in front of the company's Herford factory November 12, 2003. Israel's Health Ministry on Monday linked the deaths of two babies to the German-made, soy-based infant formula which was taken off Israeli store shelves and found to lack an essential vitamin. The ministry said the kosher product - made by the German firm Humana GmbH and sold locally by Israel's Remedia Ltd - caused a B-1 vitamin deficiency that led to acute beriberi. Beriberi is a deficiency disease marked by inflammatory or degenerative changes of the nerves, digestive system, and heart and can be caused by a lack of B-1, also known as thiamin. Israel's state attorney was looking into whether to take legal action against the companies for selling what it said was a "defective product", the ministry said. It said at least seven other babies fed the formula had developed beriberi. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender JOH/AKW