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US President Joe Biden is pressuring manufacturers to increase production of the product, whose shortage reached 43% last week. In addition, Washington will increase imports, while dismayed parents are not satisfied with the announcements from the White House.
The United States Government seeks to alleviate an unexpected crisis due to the shortage of formula milk for babies, which has worsened in recent weeks.
On Thursday, the White House reported that US President Joe Biden spoke with the leaders of the Mead Johnson and Gerber production companies, and the Walmart and Target supermarket chains.
In his talk, the president pointed out how the Administration can help increase the local production of the formula.
In addition, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to increase imports of infant milk, with Mexico, Chile, Ireland and the Netherlands as potential customers. Currently, the United States produces 98% of the formula you consume.
The shortage of infant milk, a challenge for parents
The uncertainty in the face of a shortage of baby formula hits millions of affected American families. The shortage was recorded for months in the United States, but it increased with the decision of Abbott Laboratories, the largest supplier of powdered milk in that country, to temporarily suspend its products.
The decision to pause its production at its plant located in Michigan was made due to consumer complaints about the presence of a bacterium in powdered milk. This caused infections in babies who consumed it and even the death of two of them was reported, according to the FDA.
“We have tried seven different types of formulas and finally found one that does not cause digestive problems for babies, it is too painful for families. I really feel sorry for all families, because it is hard, some have to have a specific formula or if they cannot feed their baby,” said one of the affected people.
Supply chain setbacks and historic inflation in that nation have exacerbated the shortage, experts say. For its part, the data provider Datasembly, indicated that the rate of shortages of infant milk formula reached 43% at the end of last week, 10% more than the average in April.
Parents, dismayed, say they have had to move around the country to find some formula to give their babies. “We had a lot of trouble getting plant-based milk,” explained Olivia Espinoza, in San Diego, California. She stressed that, given the shortage of infant milk, they also do not find alternatives to supply food for their children.
The situation is particularly dire for low-income people, some of whom benefit from the WIC program, similar to food stamps. Several of the formulas withdrawn by Abbott are covered by that program, causing those that are on the market not to be covered by the plan.
This is the case of Clara Hinton, 30, a resident of Hartford, Connecticut. Her 10-month-old daughter, Patiennce, has an allergy that requires a special formula. She, without a car, has traveled the suburbs by bus to find her, but her store refused to accept her WIC card.
“She doesn’t have formula. I just gave her regular milk. What should I do? Her pediatrician made it clear I’m not supposed to do that, but what should I do?” he explained.
In addition to shortages, parents lament the increased cost of the few formulas they can find. For example, online sales have multiplied their prices, in light of the shortage.
The political battle behind the shortage
The unprecedented situation has caused criticism of the Joe Biden Administration, mainly from the opposition. Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the shortage “outrageous and unacceptable.”
For his part, the governor of Texas, Republican Gregg Abbott, and the president of the Border Patrol union, Brandon Judd, denounced that federal authorities supply formula milk to babies of undocumented immigrants, in the midst of the national shortage.
“Children are our most vulnerable and valuable Texans and deserve to be put first. Yet President Biden has ignored parents across America facing the nightmare of a national baby formula shortage,” Abbott and Judd charged. in a joint statement.
Meanwhile, according to ABC News, the Oversight Committee of the US House of Representatives plans to investigate the formula shortage and will seek registrations from the four largest manufacturers.
With Reuters, AP and AFP
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