The U.S. is in the grips of a baby formula shortage. Abbott Nutrition, a popular manufacturer, issued recalls on three of its products in February after a spate of bacterial infections and two infant deaths. Now many stores are out of baby formula or are placing limits on how customers can purchase in order to preserve supplies. According to
The New York Times:
The manufacturer of Ashley Hernandez's preferred baby formula for her two girls said it was out of stock on its website. Listings on eBay showed it would cost her up to $120 for a single can. So when she found a seller online offering 10 cans for $40 each, she expressed her desperation.
"I have two children," Ms. Hernandez, 35, of Dallas, began her message. "I cannot find it. I can purchase this today. I can pay cash."
Pandemic-related supply chain issues have compounded the problem, CNN reports:
The out-of-stock rate for baby formula hovered between 2% and 8% in the first half of 2021, but began rising sharply last July. Between November 2021 and early April 2022, the out-of-stock rate jumped to 31%, data from Datasembly showed.
That rate increased another 9 percentage points in just three weeks in April, and now stands at 40%, the statistics show. In six states — Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Missouri, Texas and Tennessee — more than half of baby formula was completely sold out during the week starting April 24, Datasembly said.
And although seven states had between 40-50% of baby formula products out of stock as of early April, 26 states are now struggling with supply.
U.S. officials could have made such shortages less likely by
approving baby formula that is widely available in Europe, but per usual, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has other priorities. The agency has a long history of taking forever—years and years and years—to approve foods and medications that European officials have already decided are perfectly safe for human consumption. (One particularly good example:
sunblock.) This is yet another in a long line of failures: Both the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) screwed up the early approval process for COVID-19 testing.
When asked about the shortages, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, praised the FDA for taking swift action to get the compromised baby formula off the market.
The FDA should really stop erecting regulatory hurdles that make it harder for working-class parents to feed their families.
