U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday debated if enough has changed to prevent a repeat of the infant formula shortage, more than a year after a nationwide crisis began. Frank Yiannas, former deputy commissioner of the FDA Office of Food Policy & Response from 2018 to 2023, said, “[…]The nation remains one outbreak, one tornado, one flood, or cyberattack away from finding itself in a similar place to that of February 17, 2022.”
Abbott Laboratories
Abbott Laboratories is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) almost a year after the Sturgis baby-formula plant closed when illnesses were reported. First reported by The Wall Street Journal, the DOJ’s consumer protection branch is looking into conduct at the plant that led to its shutdown.
A sudden lack of baby formula can be another mental health stressor for parents at a time of intense pressure. Formula can be a nutritional life saver, but its prominence has come at the expense of unrivaled mother nature’s milk.
The U.S. government should consider creating a stockpile of infant formula to avoid the possibility of future shortages, the head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration told a Senate committee last week.