FOX Business’ Lydia Hu talks to Ron Belldegrun, CEO of ByHeart, about the ‘unfathomable’ formula shortage.
House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., addresses the ongoing baby food shortages afflicting the nation and introduces an emergency response that would provide the FDA with $28 million, to manage the crisis and prevent future ones.
The additional funding bill also seeks to keep fraudulent items out of the market.
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“The stories of moms and dads struggling to find formula and the images of empty store shelves are heartbreaking,” DeLauro said in a statement. “Parents and carers across the country cannot wait – they need our support now. This bill takes important steps to safely restore supplies.”
Rep. Nancy Mace, RS.C., discusses baby food shortages as Abbott Labs and the FDA reach a deal to reopen the facility, with the White House challenged over raising taxes on businesses and Biden’s presidency.
DeLauro’s office said in a press release that the funding would help the FDA “obtain better data about the infant formula market,” and that the bill “bolsters the workforce focused on infant formula issues and the inspection staff of the… FDA increased”.
The FDA has announced it will take “important steps” to improve the country’s infant formula supply chain after American parents and pediatricians expressed concern about the current shortage.
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“We recognize that many consumers do not have access to the infant formulas and critical medical foods they are accustomed to using and are frustrated that they cannot,” FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf said Tuesday , May 10th. “We are doing everything in our power to ensure an appropriate product is available where and when they need it.”
Abbott, the nation’s largest infant formula maker, closed its Sturgis, Michigan plant and issued recalls of certain infant formulas amid an FDA investigation earlier this year after complaints that four infants were consuming the infant formula made at the plant , suffering from bacterial infections. Two of the babies died.
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The company claims that after reviewing both internal and FDA testing data, there is no evidence linking the babies’ diseases to their formula.
As they work to get that facility back online, Abbott said they are prioritizing formula production at other plants, such as those in Columbus, Ohio, and Cootehill, Ireland
Cortney Moore, Breck Dumas and Daniella Genovese of FOX Business contributed to this report.