The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Wednesday, June 15, that Singapore-based Mead Johnson Nutrition/Reckitt plans to transport 4.5 million pounds of the base powder used to make Enfamil Stage 1 to the United States to help counter the ongoing shortage of baby formula in the country.
The FDA said that the base powder would be used to produce some 5.7 million cans of baby formula, which is equivalent to about 66 million 8-ounce bottles. The company will begin shipping the product later this month to a facility in Minnesota, where it will be converted to the final product, according to UPI.
The final product will be available to American customers in the coming weeks. According to the FDA, monthly shipments will continue through November. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is evaluating options for getting the product to the United States as quickly as possible.
Biden administration making multiple efforts to address the baby formula shortage
The arrangement with Mead Johnson Nutrition/Reckitt is one of the multiple efforts by the Biden administration to bolster baby formula supplies in the U.S. The formula shortage in the United States worsened in February when Abbott Nutrition closed its production facility in Sturgis, Michigan, and initiated a recall of its products after some infants were sickened by bacterial contamination.
Abbott Nutrition reopened its Michigan facility earlier this month, with plans to release EleCare and other specialty and metabolic formulas to American consumers by June 20. Those plans hit a snag after severe storms triggered flooding in the plant, forcing Abbott to halt production again.
The company issued a statement Wednesday night regarding the latest shutdown: "We have informed FDA and will conduct comprehensive testing in conjunction with the independent third party to ensure the plant is safe to resume production. This will likely delay production and distribution of new product for a few weeks."
Abbott assures public that it has ample existing supply of EleCare
Abbott stated that it has an ample supply of EleCare and most of its specialty and metabolic formulas to meet the need until new products are available. The company said that such products are being released to families through health care professionals.
CNN reported that FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf posted a message on Twitter on Wednesday night, writing that they know Abbott is working quickly to assess the damage and will be reporting its progress to them in the days ahead.
He told U.S. senators in a hearing on Thursday that it is too soon to estimate how long the new products from the Michigan plant will be delayed because of the closure. Califf called the latest Abbott closure an unfortunate setback and a reminder that natural weather events can cause unforeseen supply chain disruptions.
