Jul 7, 2022

Arlington, VA – As the food industry association, FMI has been committed to working with federal agencies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), throughout the infant formula shortage to identify challenges to and solutions for sourcing infant formula products at grocery stores. In light of FDA’s recent announcement to grant additional flexibilities for increasing the supply of infant formula in the United States, FMI President and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin issued the following statement.

“From the outset of the Abbott Nutrition recall, FMI has been in regular communication with the Biden-Harris administration to share the challenges our member companies continue to face in securing infant formula and the steps we believe are needed to address those challenges. We therefore appreciate FDA’s announcement to provide additional regulatory flexibility to increase the types of products imported from overseas that meet the agency’s standards for safe, nutritious infant formula. We also welcome FDA’s recognition that we need longer-term solutions to ensure a steady supply of infant formula to safeguard against similar supply disruptions in the future.

“We are encouraged that the Biden-Harris administration is taking action to address the uneven distribution of imported infant formula to food retailers, which creates an obstacle to getting critical infant formula products to families across the nation, particularly those participating in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. We support FDA’s commitment to ensuring that grocery stores, large and small, have an adequate supply of infant formula to meet their customers’ needs.

“As additional formula is imported and the Abbott facility in Michigan begins production again, food retailers stand ready to work with our supply chain partners to get sufficient quantities of safe, nutritious infant formula back on grocery shelves as quickly as possible.”