Baby Formula Shortage Reaches Emergency Levels — Unprecedented
(TargetLiberty.org) – Stores across the US started running out of baby formula in the middle of May. Since then, the Biden administration has promised to solve the problem, and Congress and the FDA have both launched investigations. Despite all this, the problem is still there — and it’s worse than ever.
The Biden Administration should NEVER have allowed the baby formula shortage to reach this crisis level.
We need formula on shelves NOW, so families can feed their babies.https://t.co/nBJ5A7MyiC
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) July 19, 2022
Global supply chain issues have been affecting many products, but the crisis for baby formula really started in February when the Abbott Labs factory in Sturgis, MI — one of three major formula manufacturers in the US — was shut down after an FDA recall. By May, the loss of the plant’s output had filtered down to retailers, causing severe shortages. The situation was made worse by US trade tariffs on imported formula, especially from Canada. The federal government is trying to import emergency supplies through Operation Fly Formula, but it’s not enough. Stock rates for formula are continuing to fall.
With no sign of the shortage ending, parents are taking desperate measures to find supplies. Some are using internet bots to try to track down formula online; others are crossing the border into Mexico to buy it there.
The White House says it plans to continue with Operation Fly Formula, but there’s evidence parents don’t trust supplies — and, when they get the chance, they’re stockpiling formula. Sales are up 24% since the problem began, as a vicious circle of shortage and panic buying keeps shelves empty. A few shipments of imported formula aren’t going to break the cycle; we need real action from the administration.
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