The shortage is due to contamination, which can occur outside of a factory, such as an opened container not promptly used.
“Cronobacter, which used to be called Enterobacter sakazakii, is a germ that can live in very dry places. Cronobacter has been found in dry foods, like powdered infant formula, powdered milk, herbal teas, and starches.”
https://www.cdc.gov/cronobacter/index.html
“In November 2011, several shipments of Kotex tampons were recalled due to a Cronobacter (E. sakazakii) contamination. In one study, the pathogen was found in 12% of field vegetables and 13% of hydroponic vegetables.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cronobacter_sakazakii
“The bacterium is ubiquitous.”
The FDA admitted the Abbott lab wasn’t even contaminated, yet, closed them down.
All by design.
The FDA Was Making It Difficult For Moms To Get Baby Formula Long Before The Supply Chain Imploded
thefederalist.com ^ | Madeline Osburn
Posted on 5/12/2022, 2:49:24 PM by Kaslin
The formula shortage is finally bringing attention to the FDA’s labeling games that have angered many moms for years.
Months after distressed moms have been vocally upset and concerned about the baby formula shortage, the media is finally starting to ask, how could this happen? The short answer is lockdown supply chains and the shutdown of one of the country's largest formula plants in Michigan over an alleged bacterial outbreak.
The long answer is that, unlike the problem of sky-rocketing lumber prices or your West Elm furniture stuck on cargo ships, this crisis is intertwined with an already highly regulated industry and a bureaucratic agency that has been the enemy of postpartum moms well before the pandemic.
As the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is quick to point out, they do not “approve” infant formula, but they do require manufacturers to meet certain requirements to be considered “FDA-registered.” The nutrition and quality control requirements for formulas are implemented by statute, the Infant Formula Act of 1980, and it's the FDA’s job to enforce those federal law requirements, including the verification of imported European formulas that don't meet their often-debated standards.
This is an important distinction because it's also the smokescreen the FDA will likely hide behind as they are pressed to loosen restrictions on importing formulas amidst the ongoing crisis of mothers staring down empty shelves in the supermarket. When angry moms ask why their European formula orders were seized by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, experts and FDA defenders point to the federal statute as a “their hands are tied” excuse.
It is not illegal to import formulas into the United States, but any formula imported must be from a manufacturer that is FDA-registered, which entails meeting their strict rules for products and labels. Despite what media or some American doctors say, European formulas are not unsafe, and are preferred by many American moms.
For a variety of reasons, many mothers prefer formulas manufactured in Europe. Some perceive European brands to be higher quality than American formulas, although medical experts disagree on whether this is true. The European equivalent of the FDA does not allow any amount of trace pesticides to be present in their milk, so the foundation of the formula is coming from cows producing a higher quality of milk, which appeals to today's American customers often in search of “clean” ingredients.
No. The shortage is due to how government - federal and state - has “regulated” baby formula production and sales to where just three producers have 80% of the market and one producer, Abbot, has 1/2 of that. Then add that the WIC program accounts for such a significant part of the infant formula sales, and whenever a goverment program dominates a market (think Medicare) its pricing rules have huge impacts on the market. Then add that WIC is run by each state “contracting” with single suppliers to be the WIC infant formula supplier for 100% of all WIC infant formula sales in that state.
You have government created monopolies and a massive government created shortage.
But Biden could suspend the import restrictions on the same infant formula products from Mexico and Canada and allow each state to accept imported supplies to their state, and end the shortages in days.
But what Biden does not want to do is end the monopolies and mess that government regulation has created in the infant formula market.