WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden defended his administration’s response to a national baby formula shortage, saying he acted as soon he became aware of the crisis in April — even as manufacturers told him Wednesday they saw it coming months earlier.
“We knew from the very beginning that this would be a very serious event,” Robert Cleveland, senior vice president for North America and Europe nutrition for Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, told Biden at a White House meeting.
Biden and the FDA have drawn criticism from lawmakers in both parties for the government’s slow response to the shortage, which began with supply-chain turmoil caused by the pandemic but was exacerbated after Abbott Laboratories recalled formula in February and shut down a Michigan factory over contamination fears.
