Barely two weeks after production restarted at a Michigan plant that supplies baby formula, flooding in the area has shut down the work as supply continues to dry up nationwide.
Severe storms in southwestern Michigan Monday wreaked havoc in the area, including Sturgis, where the city’s stormwater system was overwhelmed, Abbott said in a statement Wednesday night. As a result, the factory will have to shut down while officials can “assess damage caused by the storm and clean and re-sanitize the plant.”
Production and distribution of the EleCare specialty formula could be delayed by weeks, the company said.
“I personally spoke to the CEO tonight and we discussed our shared desire to get the facility up and running again as quickly as possible. While this is an unfortunate setback and a reminder that natural weather events can also cause unforeseen supply chain disruptions, I want to reassure consumers the all-of-government work to increase supply means we’ll have more than enough product to meet current demand,” Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf tweeted Wednesday night.
“We know Abbott is working quickly to assess the damage and will be reporting its progress to us in the days ahead. Once the company establishes a plan, FDA will be back in the facility working to ensure that they can restart producing safe and quality formula products quickly. Making sure that parents and caregivers have access to both safe and available infant formula remains a top priority for the FDA, and our teams are working night and day to help make that happen.”
The Sturgis factory had been shut down for months after an inspector found Cronobacter sakazakii bacteria, which also led to the recalls of Alimentum and EleCare powdered infant formulas. The doors only reopened on June 4, meaning the plant had less than two weeks of operation before the flooding.
In late May, President Joe Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to force the suppliers of formula ingredients to prioritize delivery to Abbott and Reckitt, both companies that make formula. The administration has also been shipping formula in from around the world to supplement the supply.
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