“Creepy” and “frustrating”. This is a stressful situation for many American parents: the United States is experiencing a shortage of baby milk. In question, the supply problems accentuated by the closure of a factory of the manufacturer Abbott. According to data provider Datasembly, the out-of-stock rate of infant milk formula reached 43% at the end of last week, up 10% from the April average.
The situation really got worse when, on February 17, after the death of two babies, the manufacturer Abbott announced the “voluntary recall” in its Michigan milk powder plant, including Similac, used by millions of American families. The investigation cleared the affected milk but production has still not resumed, worsening the shortage already caused by supply chain problems and lack of manpower.
“It’s absurd”
It’s been going on for months, says Sara Khan, mother of three children aged 10, 7 and 6 months. She held on thanks to her friends and family, who mailed her boxes of milk whenever they found one, from Boston or New York. “It’s absurd”she continues, thinking back to when she even imported milk from Germany. “It is not so simple” to change milk, she said. The baby should like the taste of the new milk and it should not cause other problems such as constipation.
On Wednesday, Abbott said “deeply regret the situation”. “Since the recall, we have been working to increase supply (…) including bringing in Similac from our site in Cootehill, Ireland, by air and producing more liquid Similac and Alimentum,” explained the group, which hopes to be able to gradually resume production in Michigan within two weeks, subject to FDA clearance.