Similac, Abbott Nutrition’s top-selling infant formula, will once again be produced at a Michigan facility that was earlier this year shut down over contamination worries.
Due to supply chain challenges brought on by the pandemic, the business shut down the plant in February, resulting in a national scarcity of infant formula.
According to Robert Ford, chairman and CEO of Abbott, “We recognise that the countrywide infant formula shortage has been tough for the families we serve, and while restarting Similac manufacturing in Michigan is an important milestone, we won’t rest until this product is back on stores.”
Parents may have faith in the quality and safety of Similac and other Abbott formulas because we take the duty of producing infant formula extremely seriously, he added. We are dedicated to winning back the faith that parents and healthcare professionals have had in us for so long.
Similac products are expected to arrive in stores in around 6 weeks, according to Abbott. The corporation announced that production has resumed and that “increased” testing will take place both before and after the formulation is created.
After receiving complaints from consumers about their infants getting sick, the FDA requested that Abbott voluntarily recall three batches of formula in February. Four newborns who ingested the Michigan plant’s infant formula developed bacterial illnesses, and at least two of the babies passed afterwards.
Cronobacter sakazakii, a bacteria that may cause life-threatening infections and inflammation of the brain and spine, was found to be responsible for the disorders.
Abbott stated that there is insufficient proof to connect the formula to the illnesses following checks at the plant. The bacteria were not found in any samples of the recalled product, and in all four cases, tests on unopened containers of formula kept in the homes of the infants came out negative.
Likewise, according to The New York Times, FDA authorities said in May that the Michigan plant had a leaking roof, standing water on the floor, and gaps in the production machinery that may support the growth of bacteria.
According to the newspaper, Abbott and the federal government reached an agreement to establish new precautions, including employing a trained professional to supervise changes at the plant and alert the FDA if any problems were found.
EleCare, a specialised formula, and a few metabolic formulae were later put back into production by the company on July 1. According to the company, these products will start shipping in the upcoming weeks.
Cronobacter sakazakii has been discovered in a few batches of infant formula since July.
In those situations, Abbott said in the statement, “we discovered the problem, fixed it, and no compromised product has been supplied or will be.” “This shows that our quality systems are effective,”
According to the firm, Abbott will supply more than 8 million pounds of infant formula to the United States in August, an increase from August 2021 levels. The business is extending refunds until the end of October to make sure that recipients of the government Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) have access to formula.
The company explained in the statement that “restarting a large manufacturing facility after a several-month outage is a difficult operation, and it requires time to guarantee that equipment, processes, and output are operating smoothly and sustainably.” There have been stops and starts in the past, and there probably will be in the future. We had to make mechanical adjustments as a result of things like harsh weather, and we had to throw away some early production batches because they didn’t live up to our requirements.
