Abbott baby formula plant closes again due to severe weather

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Abbott Nutrition closed down its Michigan baby formula plant once again due to flooding caused by severe weather.
• The closing is expected to put a chokehold on the struggling baby formula supply chain in the U.S.
• The delay in the production of baby formula could take a few weeks.

Abbott Nutrition announced that it has once again had to stop baby formula production in its Sturgis, Michigan plant due to severe weather.

“These torrential storms produced significant rainfall in a short period of time, overwhelming the city’s stormwater system in Sturgis, Michigan, and resulting in flooding in parts of the city, including areas of our plant,” an Abbott spokesperson told ABC News.

Abbott said it has to stop the production of its EleCare specialty formula to assess the damage caused by the storm. Cleaning and re-sanitizing the plant are also needed.

“We have informed FDA and will conduct comprehensive testing in conjunction with the independent third party to ensure the plant is safe to resume production.”

Abbott’s Michigan plant stopped production of baby formula for about four months over concerns about quality control and contamination. In February, Abbott had to issue a massive recall and plant shutdown which led to the nationwide baby formula shortage.

According to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, he spoke with Abbott’s CEO, Robert Ford, to discuss their “shared desire to get the facility up and running again as quickly as possible.”

Califf noted that the storms are a “reminder that natural weather events can also cause unforeseen supply chain disruptions.”

“I want to reassure consumers the all-of-government work to increase supply means we’ll have more than enough product to meet current demand,” Califf tweeted.

Though Abbott had promised consumers to have the hypoallergenic formula EleCare available around June 20, they will have to wait longer. Abbott was the largest manufacturer of infant formula in the U.S. prior to its recall.

“Once the plant is re-sanitized and production resumes, we will again begin EleCare production, followed by specialty and metabolic formulas,” the spokesperson told ABC News. “In parallel, we will work to restart Similac production at the plant as soon as possible.”

Abbott assured it still has “ample existing supply of EleCare and most of its specialty and metabolic formulas to meet needs for these products until new product is available.”

The company said it is coordinating with healthcare professionals in the release of these products to consumers.

“Abbott will have produced 8.7 million pounds of infant formula in June for the U.S., or the equivalent of 168.2 million 6-ounce feedings. This is 95% of what we produced in January, prior to the recall and does not include production from Sturgis,” an Abbott spokesperson said.

Source: ABC News