“Unfortunately, baby formula out-of-stock levels have
continued to soar since the beginning of April and we see no indication of a
slowdown,” Ben Reich, CEO of Datasembly, told The Epoch Times. “Baby formula
out-of-stock levels have reached 43% nationwide and continue demonstrating
higher out-of-stock levels than other categories.”
Data as of May 01, 2022 show that nine states have OOS
rates above 50%, including Tennessee (54.7%), Delaware (54.5%), Texas (52%),
Montana (51%), and Nevada (51%). Jurisdictions with the lowest OOS rates were
Colorado (26.3%), New Mexico (29%), and Indiana (29.7%).
Across the United States, multiple retailers including CVS,
Kroger, Target, and Walgreens, have applied limits on purchases of infant
formula.
Last month, CVS limited in-store and online purchases of
baby formula to three per order. Kroger installed a limit of four products per
customer. Target and Walgreens have maintained restrictions for several weeks.
Media reports suggest that some parents are responding to
the shortages by producing their own, watering down current supplies, and
rationing formula.
The FDA has discouraged parents from making
formula at home due to “very serious health concerns” for babies.
“The potential problems associated with errors in selecting
and combining the ingredients for the formula are very serious and range from
severe nutritional imbalances to unsafe products that can harm infants,” the
agency noted.
Health experts warn that too much water for infants under
six months could trigger seizures and brain swelling and dilute the calories.
As of 2018, four companies control close to 90% of the
market: Abbott, Reckitt Benckiser, Nestlé, and Perrigo.
Beginning of crisis
Earlier this year, Abbott Laboratories, a leading baby
formula maker, recalled products sold under the Alimentum, EleCare, and Similac
brands that were produced at a Michigan facility. Four children had become sick
with bacterial infections, resulting in two deaths. This prompted public health
authorities to encourage shoppers to avoid buying formulas tied to the plant,
although Abbott doesn’t believe there is a link between these illnesses and its
formulas.
In addition to Abbott’s recall, the baby formula shortage
has been exacerbated by global supply chain snafus, the shifts in pandemic-related
consumer patterns, and soaring price inflation worldwide.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 public health crisis, many
parents hoarded containers of baby formula much in the same way consumers
accumulated large amounts of toilet paper and paper towels.
In 2021, manufacturers noticed that demand had been sliding.
They responded by curbing production. Today, infant formula demand is surging
once again as shortage fears grow and breastfeeding rates fall.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), only one-quarter of babies born in 2018 were breastfed exclusively in
their first six months.
In recent years, the prevalence of breastmilk substitutes
has been a source of controversy among public health experts.
“The promotion of commercial milk formulas should have been
terminated decades ago,” said Dr. Francesco Branca, director of the WHO
Nutrition and Food Safety Department, in a statement last month. “The
fact that formula milk companies are now employing even more powerful and
insidious marketing techniques to drive up their sales is inexcusable and must
be stopped.”
The global formula milk industry is now worth US$55 billion.
Meanwhile, Abbott announced that it will work
closely with the FDA to restart operations within two weeks. The company
projects that it could take six to eight weeks to get its products back on
store shelves.
Life and Death
The US government has been scrambling to resolve the issue. President
Joe Biden met with infant formula manufacturers and retailers on May 12, 2022
to gather updates on intensifying shortages across the country.
Following the meeting, the president announced additional
steps to address the issue to get more infant formula on store shelves
faster, including reducing red tape and boosting supply through increased
imports. In addition, he urged the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys
general to tighten down on any infant formula price gouging.
Earlier, more than 100 House Republicans urged the
administration and the FDA in a letter to release data on the
nationwide shortages and provide specific details on how they plan to address
the issue.
“This issue is a matter of life and death, and it is time
this administration treats it with the appropriate urgency it deserves,” the
106 Republican lawmakers wrote.
Rep. Elise Stefanik says this is an example of Biden’s
“failed leadership,” adding that the FDA didn’t have a plan to figure out how
to address the supply chain crisis aspect of baby formula manufacturing.
“But it even goes back earlier than that, as a result of
just the labor shortage in this country, the lack of accessing basic materials
that are part of the manufacturing process,” she told the host of NTD’s
“Capitol Report,” Steve Lance. “But what’s really struck me is the sheer
incompetence of Joe Biden and House Democrats and frankly, failure to address
any aspect of this.”
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said, “We are doing
everything in our power to ensure there is adequate product available where and
when they need it.”
