Abbott Agrees to Consent Decree with FDA

The Biden Administration is taking steps to address the nationwide baby formula shortage. The manufacturer at the heart of a recall ‘Abbott’ announced yesterday that it has reached an agreement with the FDA to enter into a consent decree which would legally bind the company to take certain steps in response to violations found at it’s plant in Sturgis, Michigan. If the agreement is approved, production could restart in about two weeks. The first to resume would be specialty metabolic formulas EleCare and Alimentum followed by Similac. It will take about 6 to 8 weeks to start seeing products on store shelves. Production at the facility was halted back in February after four infants fell ill with rare and serious bacterial infections. The White House is also taking steps to import more formula. Only about 2% of U.S. baby formula comes from outside the country due to strict FDA regulations but, the government has plans to relax restrictions in order to allow more product in.