The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been working to increase the supply of infant and specialty formula products in the U.S., and recently published an update on its efforts. Supply chain issues precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted the availability of infant formula nationwide. FDA’s update follows a foodborne illness outbreak linked with infant formula produced by Abbott Nutrition.
FDA reports that it was working to address the shortages of infant formula prior to the recall and investigation of Abbott Nutrition’s infant formula products. Since that time, however, FDA has been working with Abbott Nutrition and other manufacturers to bring safe infant formula products to the U.S. market. FDA notes that infant formula manufacturers, aside from Abbott Nutrition, have been meeting or exceeding capacity levels to meet demand. FDA lists several steps it is taking to support the supply of infant formula products, such as: