The American group Abbott has reached an agreement with the justice system to restart its production of baby milk at its Michigan site, in order to reduce the shortage of this vital product for infants, the group and the United States Department of Justice announced on Monday May 16.
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The United States is experiencing a very rare baby milk shortage situation that has left millions of parents worried.
Initially caused by supply chain problems and a lack of labor due to the pandemic, the shortage was made worse when in February a factory of the manufacturer Abbott in Michigan closed, after a recall of products suspected of having caused the death of two babies.
The US Drug Administration (FDA) cleared the milk, but found
“483 irregularities”
with the factory, Abbott said on Friday, stressing that it
“immediately began implementing corrective actions”
.
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The Justice Department and Abbott said in a separate statement that the deal still needs to be cleared by a judge.
But the manufacturer, one of the major players in the baby milk market, plans to reopen its Michigan plant within two weeks.
He repeated that it would then take
“6 to 8 weeks before the products are available on the shelves”
.
Until then, it will continue to import baby milk from its factory in Ireland to try to ease shortages in the United States.
“We know millions of parents and caregivers depend on us and we are deeply sorry that our voluntary recall has worsened the nationwide shortage of breast milk
,” the group responded Monday.
“We will work hard to regain the trust that mums, dads and caregivers have placed in our powders for over 50 years
,” he added.