The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to announce measures to support foreign makers of baby formula to stay in the U.S. market for the long-term in response to the nationwide shortage, the federal agency said on Wednesday.
The closure of a key manufacturing plant of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) worsened the baby formula shortage in the country early this year. Other companies operating in the U.S. baby formula market include Reckitt Benckiser (OTCPK:RBGPF) (OTCPK:RBGLY) and the Gerber division of Nestle (OTCPK:NSRGF)(OTCPK:NSRGY).
The plan will help the overseas manufacturers that sent supplies to the U.S. under emergency clearances to ease the shortage, secure long-term authorization to market their formula in the U.S.
The measures include ways to support producers temporarily selling in the U.S. to meet existing regulatory standards to stay on the market.
In addition, the FDA plans to conduct meetings and provide manufacturers with a single point of contact to make the application process more efficient.
“The need to diversify and strengthen the U.S. infant formula supply is more important than ever,” noted the FDA commissioner, Dr. Robert Califf, and Susan Mayne, the director of the agency’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
“The recent shutdown of a major infant formula plant, compounded by unforeseen natural weather events, has shown just how vulnerable the supply chain has become.”
Abbott (ABT) reopened its baby formula plant last month, only to close it a week later after flooding in southwestern Michigan.