After severe storms barreled through the Midwest this week, Abbott Nutrition halted production of EleCare infant formula at its plant in Sturgis, Michigan due to flooding, the company announced on Wednesday.
Production and distribution of new product would likely be delayed for several weeks – but there is currently enough supply to meet demand until production begins again, Abbott said.
“Abbott has stopped production of its EleCare specialty formula that was underway to assess damage caused by the storm and clean and re-sanitize the plant,” the company said in a statement. “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.”
Sturgis is the same Abbott plant that shut down in February and was closed for months due to contamination. As the largest formula factory in the country, the Sturgis closure helped trigger the now ongoing baby formula shortage nationwide. Abbott supplies 46.2% of the U.S. supply of baby formula, and about one-quarter was historically produced at the Michigan plant.
Abbott’s February recall:FDA warns consumers not to use select Similac, Alimentum and EleCare
The February closure came after the Food and Drug Administration began investigating four bacterial infections among infants who consumed powdered formula from the plant. Two died. Abbott continues to state that its products have not been directly linked to the infections, which involved different bacterial strains.
The FDA eventually found numerous violations at the Sturgis plant, including bacterial contamination, a leaky roof and lax safety protocols.
Abbott also recalled several leading brands of formula in February, including Similac. That squeezed supplies that had already been strained by supply chain disruptions and stockpiling during COVID-19 shutdowns.
Production at Abbott’s Sturgis plant had restarted June 4, under two weeks prior to Wednesday’s announcement.
June 4:Abbott restarts Michigan baby formula plant linked to contamination
Abbott will produce a total of 8.7 million pounds of formula (or 168.2 million 6-ounce feedings) in June for the U.S., the company said in its Wednesday statement.
“This is 95% of what we produced in January, prior to the recall and does not include production from Sturgis,” Abbott wrote. “Once the plant is re-sanitized and production resumes, we will again begin EleCare production, followed by specialty and metabolic formulas. In parallel, we will work to restart Similac production at the plant as soon as possible.”
FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf also addressed the halt of Abbott’s EleCare production on Twitter Wednesday night.
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“While this is an unfortunate setback and 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 wrote.
Califf added that, after Abbott assesses the damage at Sturgis and reports progress to the FDA, the FDA “will be back in the facility working to ensure that they can restart producing safe and quality formula products quickly.”
In terms of nationwide numbers, federal officials have said it could take several more weeks before formula supplies return to normal levels. The Biden administration has eased import rules for foreign manufacturers, airlifted formula from Europe and invoked federal emergency rules to prioritize U.S. production.
Video:President Biden says every American family ‘will get baby formula they need’
Contributing: The Associated Press. Joey Garrison and Rebecca Morin, USA TODAY.
