2022 Baby Formula Shortage: Facts You Need To Know

Tracking developments on the baby formula shortage of 2022.

Cronobacter sakazakii Discovery Led To Formula Shortage. “The Cronobacter sakazakii that was found in environmental testing during the investigation was in non-product contact areas of the facility and has not been linked to any known infant illness,” Abbott’s website states. According to the CDC, Cronobacter can cause blood infections or make the linings around the brain and spinal cord swell. Symptoms may include a fever, poor feeding, excessive crying, very low energy and seizures.” [Post Crescent]

Abbott Reached Agreement With Gov’t Regulators To Reopen Michigan Baby Formula Plant. “Under the agreement, Abbott must work with outside experts to upgrade its standards and reduce bacterial contamination at the Sturgis, Michigan, facility, which the Food and Drug Administration has been investigating since early this year. The deal, which must be reviewed by a federal judge, amounts to a legally binding agreement between the FDA and the company on steps needed to reopen the factory.” [WDIV]

Scammers Targeting Parents Seeking Baby Formula. “There’s a warning for parents shopping online to find baby formula: Scammers are surfacing on websites and social media channels offering infant food. In some cases, all they ask for is shipping costs.” [KHOU]

Government Response

House Democrats Propose $28 Million Emergency Plan For Baby Formula. “Democrats on Tuesday announced an emergency spending bill that includes $28 million in funding to address the crisis, much of which aims to specifically support the Food and Drug Administration as it struggles to respond to the shortage. “This bill takes important steps to restore supply in a safe and secure manner,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement.” [Mother Jones]

Biden Admin Giving Logistics Support To Formula Manufacturers. “The White House said it is working with all major formula producers to boost production, including reaching out to their suppliers to encourage them to prioritize production and delivery of formula ingredients. It comes as the Biden administration has come under intense pressure over the last week to do more to ease the shortage of formula that has forced parents of infants to go to significant lengths to feed their children.” [WPLG]

FDA: Agency Getting Formula From Other Countries. “FDA’s Dr. Robert Califf tells @kaitlancollins his agency will make it possible for baby formula intended for other countries to become available in the US in a set of announcements expected “by the end of the day.” He said the situation will “gradually improve” over a “few weeks”” [CNN]

Biden Launched Website To Help Parents With Formula Shortage. “After White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday struggled to answer what the administration’s guidance is for a concerned parent who cannot find formula to feed their baby, she announced Friday that the US Department of Health and Human Services has launched a new website to assist parents searching for infant formula amid national supply shortages. Individuals can visit HHS.gov/formula, which Psaki said will provide “resources and places that parents can go to obtain formula, including contacts with companies, food banks (and) health care providers.”” [CNN]

House Democrats Investigating Formula Shortage. ““The national formula shortage poses a threat to the health and economic security of infants and families in communities across the country—particularly those with less income who have historically experienced health inequities, including food insecurity,” Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) wrote in letters to Abbott Nutrition, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Nestle USA and Perrigo,” ABC News was first to report Friday.” [Alternet]

Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg: Formula Shortage Is Top Biden Priority. “”I think about what that would be like if you’re a shift worker with two jobs, maybe you don’t have a car, you literally don’t have the time or the money to be going from store to store,” Buttigieg said in an interview with “Face the Nation.” “That’s why this is such a serious issue and that’s why it’s getting attention at the highest levels, including, of course, direct involvement by the president.”” [CBS]

Buttigieg: Abbott Nutrition Plant Shutdown Over Safety Led To Shortage. “Baby formula shortages due to supply chain and workforce issues were amplified by a recall of formulas made by Abbott and an ongoing shutdown of its manufacturing plant in Michigan over safety concerns. “Fundamentally, we are here because a company was not able to guarantee that its plant was safe, and that plant has shut down,” Buttigieg said on “Face the Nation.”” [The Hill]

Video: Biden Comments On Formula Shortage

Video: Biden Conference Call With Formula Manufacturers, Retailers

Republicans On The Formula Shortage

Fact Check: Baby Formula Shortage Not Connected To Biden Immigration Policy. “But it is inaccurate to suggest that President Biden is choosing to prioritize the needs of immigrant children over those of American children. Providing food — like formula — and water to migrant children detained at the border is required by a lawsuit settlement, and the Trump administration also adhered to that requirement. And it is unlikely that the amount of formula in stock at detention facilities would meaningfully ease the shortage.” [NY Times]

GOP Rep Claims “Pedo Grifters” Are To Blame For Formula Shortage. “Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who describes herself as “pro-life,” blamed the White House and mysterious “pedo grifters” on Friday for America’s infant formula shortage — and called for denying formula to migrant’s babies.” [HuffPost]

Results

Milk Bank Popularity Grows Due To Formula Shortage. “At the Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast, based in Newton, Massachusetts, interest in donating and receiving milk because of the shortage has spiked. Typically, the milk bank gets about 30-50 calls a month from people looking to donate. On Thursday alone, 35 calls came in from potential donors, said Deborah Youngblood, the bank’s executive director.” [AP]