New York City Mayor Eric Adams has declared a state of emergency in the Big Apple over the nationwide shortage of baby formula. A Sunday statement from his office announced that Adams just signed an emergency executive order which will empower New York City's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to prevent price gouging for formula.
Adams said in the statement that the nationwide infant formula shortage has caused unimaginable pain and anxiety for families across New York and they must now act with urgency, according to a report by Fox News.
Adams added that this emergency executive order will help them to crack down on any retailer looking to capitalize on this crisis by jacking up prices on this essential good. He then gave a simple message to struggling mothers and families, saying that their city will do everything in its power to assist them during this challenging period.
Baby formula shortage affecting stores in New York
According to the mayor, more than 40 percent of retailers in the tristate area are out of stock of formula. CNN scanned large retailers in three New York City boroughs for formula, with the news outlet having mixed results on Sunday, May 22. No formula was found on the shelves of two large supermarkets in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, with a worker at one of those retailers saying that some formula is kept "in the back office."
CVS was cleaned out in Long Island City, Queens, except for six containers of Similac Alimentum, which were priced at $14.49 each. A smaller grocery store across the street in Long Island City did have an otherwise very full section of baby food but only had four cans of Similac For Spit-Up which were priced at $25.99 each.
The shelves at a Target store in midtown Manhattan were almost cleaned out except for three larger boxes of Enfamil Neuropro Sensitive, and three containers of Similac Alimentum priced at $14.69 each.
There were also a few available varieties of toddler formula. A sign that was posted in the store warned customers that select formula items and sizes are currently not being produced due to the industry-wide formula shortage, directing their shoppers to the company's website instead.
Some New Yorkers being overcharged for baby formula
New York's Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom issued a statement about the issue, telling WABC that the nationwide infant formula shortage is hurting parents and families across their city at a time when they are all still reeling from the crisis of the past two years.
New Yorkers who are overcharged for formula can file their complaints with the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. The baby formula shortage has escalated in the United States recently following a voluntary recall by Abbott Nutrition of specific powdered formulas that were made at its plant in Sturgis, Michigan.
They received four complaints that four infants who consumed products made from the facility got sick with a bacterial infection, two of whom later died.
