The largest US infant formula maker, Abbott, has expressed regret at the dramatic shortages following the shutdown of one of its factories. “We’re sorry for every family we’ve let down since our voluntary recall exacerbated our country’s baby food shortages,” Abbott CEO Robert Ford wrote in a commentary published Saturday Washington Post. Nevertheless, one believes that the recall was correct. “We will not take any chances when it comes to children’s health.”
Ford announced measures to overcome the bottlenecks. Abbott recalled several product lines after four infants became ill and two died, possibly due to bacterial contamination. Production at a plant in the state of Michigan has been completely stopped for the time being. Ford wrote in the op-ed that it is known that due to a lack of Abbott formula, some children who cannot digest other foods and milk have been hospitalized. “This is tragic and heartbreaking.” The Abbott boss continued to write that the production of this special food was given the highest priority. The affected families should be helped with a fund of five million dollars.
President Biden intervenes
In addition, another Abbott plant that otherwise manufactures products for adults has now been converted to baby food. In addition, baby food is flown in from a factory in Ireland. The Michigan plant is expected to reopen in the first week of June. Abbott is also investing in measures to ensure that such bottlenecks do not occur again. US President Joe Biden has made baby formula shortages a top priority and used a wartime law to boost production. The White House announced on Friday that baby food would be flown to the United States by military aircraft from the US base in Ramstein in Rhineland-Palatinate over the weekend.
The newspaper Rhine Palatinate reports, citing the US Air Force’s 86th Air Transport Squadron, that 32 pallets of Nestlé food were flown to Indiana on Sunday morning. The operation was ordered by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Since commercial air transport capacities are scarce, the Air Force steps in.