New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and a few other senators have asked the Food and Drug Administration to take action to prevent another infant formula shortage.
Heinrich, who is the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Bob Casey, D-Pa., wrote a letter to FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf on Sept. 27, asking the agency to ensure that production levels for domestic infant formula remains constant, and that store shelves continue to be stocked.
As the FDA continues to respond to the formula shortage of 2022, many questions remain on how the FDA is continuing to address this issue.
“It is imperative that we continue to address the nation’s infant formula crisis by meaningfully improving the quality and safety of the U.S. infant formula factory network in order to ensure the health and safety of American infants,” the senators wrote.
In May 2022, following multiple reports of illness and two tragic deaths linked to recalled infant formula manufactured by Abbott Nutrition, Heinrich joined 30 of his colleagues in sending a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to immediately assign a coordinator within the White House to address the infant formula shortage. The senators additionally called for the President to implement a national strategy to increase the resiliency of the infant formula supply chain and protect against future contamination and shortages.
Heinrich also helped to pass into law the Access to Baby Formula Act to ensure that families who rely on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children were provided the baby formula they needed.
