Baby Formula Import Rules Eased; Abbott Steps Up US Production

AP: US Allows More Baby Formula Imports To Fight Shortage 
Under fire from parents and politicians, President Joe Biden’s administration announced steps Monday to ease a nationwide shortage of baby formula, including reopening the largest domestic manufacturing plant and increasing imports from overseas. The Food and Drug Administration said it was streamlining its review process to make it easier for foreign manufacturers to begin shipping more formula into the U.S. (Perrone and Miller, 5/17)

The Wall Street Journal: FDA Eases Baby-Formula Import Rules To Boost Supplies 
Abbott said it had reached agreement with the FDA for the reopening of the Sturgis, Mich., plant where the company makes many formula products. The consent decree between Abbott and the FDA, which must be ratified by a federal court, outlines the steps that the company must take for the agency to allow the reopening of the plant. The company closed the plant in February, after the FDA found bacterial contamination. (Whyte, 5/16)

Reuters: Baby Formula Makers Ramp Up U.S. Supplies To Tackle Shortage 
In the meantime, other baby formula makers have stepped up production and shipped extra supplies to the United States. Reckitt Benckiser is boosting baby formula production by about 30% and making more frequent deliveries to U.S. stores, an executive told Reuters on Tuesday. The company, which makes its U.S. formula in three facilities in Michigan, Indiana and Minnesota, has granted plants "unlimited overtime" to put in extra shifts, Robert Cleveland, senior vice president, North America and Europe Nutrition at Reckitt, told Reuters in an interview. ... [And] Nestle is flying baby formula supplies to the United States from the Netherlands and Switzerland, the company said in an emailed statement to Reuters on Tuesday. (Naidu, 5/17)

Also —

The Hill: Pentagon: Military Bases ‘Not Immune’ To Baby Formula Shortage 
The nationwide baby formula shortage is taking its toll at U.S. military bases across the globe, the Pentagon’s top spokesman said Monday. “We’re not immune to the same supply chain problems that other families across America are experiencing,” press secretary John Kirby told reporters. He said that current stock levels of available baby formula in the continental United States is at 50 percent at base commissaries — neighborhood grocery stores located on military installations — while it stands at 70 percent overseas. (Mitchell, 5/16)

The 19th: How Inequities Make The Baby Formula Shortage Worse For Many Families
Baby formula is in short supply across the country, and families are struggling. Amber Romero, a mother in West Des Moines, Iowa, is feeling increasingly desperate as she tries to feed her child. “I’m a breast cancer survivor, and we’ve had to supplement with formula since I can only produce half of what my baby needs,” Romero said. “We’ve had friends give us formula that they’re not using. This morning, my husband drove to four different stores and went out of town to try to find our preferred brand of formula. He couldn’t find anything. I’m terrified that we’re going to run out of options soon.” (Padilla, 5/16)

The New York Times: Amid a Worsening Formula Shortage, Mothers Are Asked: ‘Why Not Breastfeed?’
Before having her third child last month, Joelyz Lugo had planned to breastfeed, but her daughter’s difficult birth derailed such plans. While in the neonatal intensive care unit, her baby needed to be fed formula, and when the pair finally tried breastfeeding, the baby struggled to latch. One month later, with a baby formula shortage making it all but impossible for Ms. Lugo to give up breastfeeding, she has settled into a grueling routine. Every three hours, she hooks herself up to a breast pump to try and boost production, but her milk supply remains low. Ms. Lugo gets less than an ounce of breast milk per pumping session — a fraction of what her daughter needs. (Pearson, 5/16)