DYSFUNCTION: There is a Serious Baby Formula Shortage in America
Posted on 05/10/2022
Parents across the United States continue to scramble to find baby formula to feed their children. Store shelves in some retailers are running low on supplies. CVS and Walgreens have started limiting purchases to three containers per customer. Months of spot shortages at pharmacies and supermarkets have been exacerbated by the recall at Abbott Laboratories. Abbott Laboratories recalled several major brands. Abbott was forced to shutter its largest U.S. formula manufacturing plant in Sturgis, Michigan, in February 2022 due to contamination concerns. Four babies suffered bacterial infections after consuming formula from the facility. Two of the infants died from the contamination. Cronobacter is a bacteria that can cause blood infections and meningitis.
Pediatricians and health workers are urging parents who can’t find formula to contact food banks or doctor’s offices. Pediatricians warn against watering down baby formula to stretch supplies or using online do-it-yourself baby formula recipes.
Baby formula was in short supply during the later parts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Freight delays held up crucial ingredients.
