Biden admin official: 'Still a problem' with baby formula supply
Families still struggle as baby formula shortage stretches into eighth month
FOX Business’ Madison Alworth hears from a Pennsylvania mother of two, Jerri Janelle Rayburg, about having to resort to purchasing baby formula from Switzerland.
Baby formula supplies have begun to rebound, but the White House acknowledges there are continued struggles getting stock back to normal.
The shortage began earlier this year when Abbott Nutrition plant in Sturgis, Michigan, was shut down due to reports of infants being hospitalized after consuming products from the facility.
"I know that there’s obviously still a problem," U.S. Department of Agriculture official Stacy Dean told Politico.
Following a number of setbacks, production at the Sturgis plant resumed in July, prioritizing specialty formulas like EleCare, and popular Similac products. While supply chains are normalizing, in-store stock of baby formula remains uneven and unpredictable.
"Since February, the administration has worked to address the formula shortage caused by Abbott and has taken aggressive steps to avoid this happening again," a White House spokesperson told Politico.
ABBOTT RECALLS SEVERAL READY-TO-FEED LIQUID BABY FORMULA
Baby formula is seen on a shelf in a Target store on July 8, 2022, in Houston. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images / Getty Images) The White House noted that the U.S. government is working hand-in-hand with Abbott to get production back to pre-shortage levels. The White House spokesperson continued, "Supply is ticking up, store shelves are improving, and we continue working across government to fully restore the supplies as Abbott brings production fully online." The Michigan plant was shut down in February and several brands of baby formula were recalled as the FDA investigated bacterial infections in infants, two of which were fatal. The national in-stock rate for baby formula has climbed back to 82.24%, but the supply is still below the 89% supply families were accustomed to before the formula crisis began in February. Around 33% of American families were still struggling to find baby formula in September, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey. Meanwhile, nearly one in five affected households has less than one week of formula accessible, the same survey reveals. Walmart baby formula stock is seen at store in Raleigh, North Carolina, on June 2, 2022. (REUTERS/Arriana Mclymore/File Photo / Reuters Photos) Lawmakers like Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., have been calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to address why the agency has not acted swiftly enough in response to the shortages. They have introduced bills that would accept additional formula manufactures to market. Part of the proposed legislation would allow more imports of formula. MOM OF PREEMIE TWINS SENDS MESSAGE TO BIDEN AS BABY FORMULA SHORTAGE PERSISTS: ‘WHERE ARE YOU? WAKE UP!’ While the FDA eased federal import regulations, and the Biden administration airlifted millions of pounds of formula from overseas, some mothers worried that it is a short-term fix to a market that lacks enough domestic manufacturing. Abbott Laboratories CEO Robert Ford said Wednesday the company has made progress in addressing the ongoing baby formula shortage in the U.S. over the past several months, providing a status update and revealing changes aimed at preventing another crisis. Yury Navas, 29, of Laurel, Maryland, kisses her two-month-old baby Jose Ismael Gálvez, at Superbest International Market May 23, 2022, while looking for formula. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin / AP Newsroom) GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE The CEO said that despite the disruptions at the Michigan facility, Abbott's move to boost global production at other sites and direct products to the U.S. nearly made up for the lack of output at the plant, saying, "We delivered roughly the same volume of formula to our U.S. customers this past quarter as we did during the three months prior to the recall." FOX Business' Breck Dumas and Paul Best contributed to this report. Source: Read Full Article
