Biden announces steps to combat baby formula shortage in US
May 12, 2022
Washington [US], May 13 : Amid the shortage of baby formula in the US, President Joe Biden on Thursday announced additional steps to bolster work to get infant formula onto store shelves as quickly as possible without compromising safety.
This comes as the US is facing a crisis of significant infant formula shortages in stores with parents struggling to buy food for their babies.
Biden has directed his administration to work urgently to ensure that during the Abbott Nutrition voluntary recall, infant formula is safe and available for families across the country.
Notably, on February 17, the largest infant formula manufacturer in the country--Abbott Nutrition--initiated a voluntary recall of several lines of powdered formula. This came after concerns about bacterial contamination at Abbott's Sturgis, Michigan, facility after four infants fell ill and two died.
Biden on Thursday (local time) spoke with retailers and manufacturers, including Wal-Mart, Target, Reckitt, and Gerber, to discuss ways to work together to do more to help families access infant formula.
Families across the country remain concerned about the availability of infant formula--especially families that depend on specialty formulas for which the Sturgis facility is a key supplier.
These 20 specialty formulas are used by about 5,000 infants as well as some older children and adults with rare metabolic diseases, and Abbott Nutrition is the only supplier for some of these formulas.
These steps include increasing the supply of formula through increased import, cracking down on any price gouging or unfair market practices, and cutting red tape to get more infant formula to store shelves quicker.
