Poppin ’ (Baby) Bottles for the One Year Anniversary of the Formula Crisis

Gabriella Beaumont-SmithOne year agotoday, Abbott Nutrition issued recalls of infant formula produced at its plant in Sturgis, Michigan. At the same time, Abbott closed the factory leading to a nationwidecrisis—the supply shock couldn ’t be remedied by the two other major U.S. formula‐​makers, rigid policies prevented imports from filling the gap, and parents began hoarding supplies. In May 2022, national weekly out ‐​of‐​stock rates reached74% and continued to climb, reaching over 90% in June.Since then, national out ‐​of‐​stock rates have improved (thanks in large part totemporarytradeliberalization) but many parents arestillhaving trouble finding formula in stores. Scott Lincicome and I lay outwhy the formula crisis was unique, and why it wasdifferent fromother products that experienced shortages:The combination of high trade barriers, onerous domestic regulations and restrictive government contracts has created a concentrated and sclerotic U.S. formula market that collapsed when a single factory shut down and still hasn ’t fully recovered. Tellingly, the federal government’s emergency actions to alleviate the formula crisis targeted these very policies. Congress suspended baby‐​formula tariffs through the end of 2022. The FDA exercised its “enforcement discretion” to approve eight new foreign manufactur ers to sell formula until 2025 without meeting all U.S. regulations. The Agriculture Department allowed WIC recipie...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs