A salmonella scandal at French dairy group Lactalis has affected 83 countries, where 12 million boxes of powdered baby milk are being recalled, the company's CEO said Sunday in an interview with French media. 

"We must take account the scale of this operation: more than 12 million boxes are affected," he said, adding that distributors would no longer have to sort through the produce. "They know that everything has to be removed from the shelves," he said.