The FDA “dropped the ball” National milk powder crisis — Experts said on Friday that they would shut down critical plants in addition to product recalls and then not warn their parents about the impact.
Desperate moms and dads are trolling stores across the country Search for infant formula Since megamaker Abbott issued a safety recall in February for products manufactured at its own factory in Sturgis, Michigan, due to concerns about contamination.
The Federal Pharmacy closed the factory after federal inspectors discovered that Abbott was unable to maintain hygiene and procedures there — causing a series of catastrophic effects on the supply chain.
“Someone should have noticed, whether it’s Abbott or the FDA.’We stopped production on one of the few plants that produce infant formula, and what’s the impact?'” Attorney William Marler said. -To the safety case, post.
“There, the FDA and Abbott dropped the ball …. We should have been able to retrieve the product without closing the facility. We are constantly recalling without closing the facility.”
Amy Daily, 38, Manhattan’s mom on the Upper West Side lamented on Friday that she was forced to remove her 11-month-old baby Alice from infant formula early in the event of a shortage.
“People are desperate … it’s a real crisis. Mom is in trouble,” she said.
“The administration knew there was a shortage and should have done something to prevent it-or at least gave mom more warning,” Daily said. naked.
On Friday, President Biden Critics beat to deal with the crisisOnly “better mind leader” insisted May have been more effective than his administration FDA to deal with dire situations.
His flashy comments came a few months after the factory closed, the day after the White House announced that it would eventually begin to pave the way for imports of formulas from abroad.
“Some products come from abroad, but the US red tape is hampering a lot of the need,” Wall Street Journal opinion writer James Freeman said in a Friday article.
“Every time this issue occurs in the news cycle, all Team Biden and its allies at Capitol Hill are calling for further investigation of the business.
“Now the president wants the Federal Trade Commission to look for evidence of price cuts, and Democrats want testimony from the formulators. Hungry for those who can investigate the FDA and make powdered milk. How about feeding a newborn baby? “
“The authorities knew that this shortage would occur,” Peter Pitts, a former deputy member of the FDA and now the director of the Public Interest Medical Center, told the post.
“They should have been given advance warning and informed them how to prepare and educate their parents,” he said. “As a result, one day my parents went to the store, the shelves were empty, and I panicked.
“The White House doesn’t handle that,” Pitts added frankly.
White House spokesman Jen Psaki was less helpful than his boss when asked on Friday how long shortages were expected to be a problem.
“It’s a really important question, but it’s hard to evaluate,” she said.
She even claimed that the FDA had done the right thing all the time because “there was a baby who died taking this prescription” during a Thursday briefing.
Abbott strongly denied that the plant’s product killed the baby.
FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Caliph said in a tweet on Friday that government efforts to help other companies increase production and imports from abroad should alleviate the shortfall within “a few weeks.”
However, the head of Perigo, which manufactures Wal-Mart and Amazon-branded milk powder, told Reuters on Friday that the shortage is expected to continue “this year’s balance.”
Abbott has given FDA approval to resume operations, claiming that it can resume production at the FDA’s closed factory within “two weeks.”
Since its closure, Abbott said it has shipped millions of cans from an Irish FDA-registered facility to the United States and prioritized the production of infant formula at its Columbus, Ohio facility.
Experts from various industries said the government could have avoided a formal catastrophe if it had clear leadership and a “dedicated food agency.”
Mitzi Baum, Chief Executive Officer of the non-profit STOP Food Borne Illness, said:
Baum added that the delay reflects “system malfunctions” and does not protect public health.
“Most of the FDA’s funding goes to medicines and devices, and the FDA’s food sector has a serious shortage of funding and lacks clear leadership,” Baum said.
Hal King, Managing Partner of ActiveFoodSafety LLC, a food industry advisory firm, said:
“We need a dedicated food agency,” King said.
“The FDA’s communication with the general public and the company’s communication with the general public was too late to let people know that there was food in the system that made them sick.
“Pulling things off the shelves is good, but it doesn’t tell people about the products they might have in their homes. The process is broken.”
