Abbott Nutrition Baby Formula Recall Overview:
- Who: Senators Patty Murray and Bob Casey are demanding Abbott Nutrition hand over documents related to the company’s infant formula recall last week.
- Why: The demand comes after it was revealed that the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Abbott knew babies were sickened by the formula since September 2021 but didn’t issue a recall until last week.
- Where: The recall was issued in the United States, Canada and about three dozen other countries.
Senators are demanding Abbott Nutrition hand over documents related to its recent recall of infant formulas linked to the hospitalizations of four babies after it was revealed the company may have known about contamination since September last year.
On Feb. 25, Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) sent a letter to Abbott CEO and chair Robert Ford demanding the company explain the delay in its recall, POLITICO reports.
“It is completely unacceptable that manufacturing conditions allowed a contaminated product to reach babies and that it took months for the company to act to warn parents and caregivers about this danger,” the senators wrote
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted an alert to its website Feb. 17, urging parents not to buy or use Similac, Alimentum or EleCare powdered infant formula made by Abbott Nutrition after four babies consumed the formula and got sick or died.
At the time, health authorities said they were investigating four consumer complaints of infant illness related to products from Abbott Nutrition’s Sturgis, Michigan, facility.
The complaints include three reports of cronobacter sakazakii infections and one report of salmonella newport infection. All of the sickened babies are reported to have consumed powdered infant formula produced from Abbott Nutrition’s Sturgis facility.
Agencies Conducting Laboratory Testing, Investigation Following Recall
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says it has since received reports of more Cronobacter sakazakii cases that may be tied to the outbreak, POLITICO reports, including reports in Texas and Maryland.
“CDC and FDA are conducting additional laboratory testing and investigation to better understand these cases,” CDC said in an update Feb. 25.
In the letter, the Democratic senators ask Abbott to provide “all internal documents and communications” pertaining to contamination, consumer complaints and use of outside consultants at the Michigan plant that produced the formula.
The recall includes specialized formulas for those with allergies and food intolerances.
The shortage caused by the recall has left many parents scrambling to feed their children, according to reports. The formula has been recalled in about three dozen countries.
The senators have asked for “assurances that [Abbott] is taking every effort to … ensure parents and caregivers have the information they need.”
Murray and Casey set a Mar. 10 deadline for Abbott to respond.
Meanwhile, parents whose babies drank the recalled infant formula are taking matters into their own hands by suing the company.
The class action lawsuit came just one day after the FDA issued its warning urging parents not to buy or use Similac, Alimentum or EleCare powdered infant formula made by Abbott Nutrition.
If your child became sick after consuming the recalled baby formula, you may be able to join a class action lawsuit investigation and obtain compensation. Click here for more information.
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Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
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