There's Plenty Of Infant Formula Despite Recall Of Similac, FDA Says

Amid nationwide reports of infant formula shortages, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says sales are up and it is working to make sure appropriate formulas are available to the public, Coral Beach reported for Food Safety News (FSN).

Photo Insert: Similac

An outbreak of cronobacter infections that has hospitalized at least four babies with two deaths has led to the closure of a major manufacturing plant operated by Abbott Nutrition in Sturgis, Michigan. The outbreak spurred the company to recall a number of infant formulas sold under the brands of Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare.

Among the recalled products are infant formulas for babies and older children with special dietary needs because of medical conditions.

Last week, the FDA announced it was allowing Abbott Nutrition to begin releasing several of those products on a case-by-case basis in conjunction with health care providers’ recommendations.

Almost immediately after the recalls were put in place on Feb. 17, news media across the country started reporting on parents who said they were having problems finding powdered infant formula.

Datasembly, a retail software company, said that about 31 percent of formula products were out of stock across the country as of April. In seven states — Connecticut, Delaware, Montana, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington — the rate for the week of April 3 was even worse, at 40 percent.

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