Baby Formula Shortages In MD: FDA Working 'Around The Clock'

MARYLAND — Federal officials this week laid out steps being taken to address the national baby formula shortage, which is escalating in Maryland.

The shortage is in large part because of massive Abbott Nutrition recalls of popular Similac, Alimentum and EleCare brands of baby formula.

The head of the nonprofit MOMCares — which supplies baby care essentials to Black mothers in Baltimore — is worried about mothers who don’t have the option to breastfeed if they can't find baby formula.

“We’re still working very hard to make sure our mothers are getting what they need,” director Ana Rodney said. “And our mothers are keeping us abreast of the things they need and the changes that are happening in their baby's nutrition so that we can then go out and make purchases for them.”

Mothers searching for formula are taking drastic measures, including diluting the formula or making their own, Rodney told FOX Baltimore. Those are measures doctors warn parents not to do.

Maryland's WIC program updated the state website and social media in addition to emailing health-care providers directly about alternatives to the recalled formula, The Washington Post reported.

Kayla Zurenko and her husband, Cody, of Calvert County have four children, including 10-month-old twins FOX News reported. "I have enough formula for two babies for 14 days," she told Fox News Digital about her current supply. "Where am I going to find formula after that?"

In the first week of May, baby formula out-of-stock rates were 43 percent, up from 40 percent at the end of April and 30 percent at the beginning of that month, according to Datasembly, a data analysis firm that looked at baby formula supplies at 11,000 U.S. retail locations.

More than half of states reported out-of-stock rates between 40 percent and 50 percent.

Government officials have suggested parents check with food banks for formula. The two largest food banks serving Marylanders are the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, D.C., and the Maryland Food Bank in Baltimore.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday it is working to resolve infant formula shortages that started almost a year ago due to supply chain issues. Until supplies can be replenished, parents who can’t find formula are urged to work with their local food banks and pediatricians.

Asked about the shortage on Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters the agency was working “around the clock.” Psaki highlighted specific steps the agency is taking to address the shortage, including working with manufacturers to increase production, optimize supply lines and increase product sizes. The agency is also trying to make it easier to import formula and is taking steps to increase supply, especially for specialized formula, Psaki said.

Major drugstores and other retailers in Maryland, including CVS, Walgreens and Target, have placed limits on the amount of formula customers can buy.

The recalled baby formulas were produced in Sturgis, Michigan, at Abbott’s largest manufacturing plant, which was shuttered in February due to contamination concerns. Formula produced at the plant was linked to two infant deaths, prompting an investigation by the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The recall especially hurt parents who rely on WIC (Women, Infants, and Children), a special supplemental nutrition program. Abbott brands are among those covered by the WIC program, and the company’s woes have trickled down to consumers.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert M. Califf said in a statement on the agency’s website that it recognizes consumers “are frustrated” by the shortages and that “ensuring the availability of safe, sole-source nutrition products like infant formula is of the utmost importance to the FDA.”

Among the solutions the agency is exploring are streamlining paperwork and opening the door for more baby formula imports.

Pediatricians warn against DIY formulas or watering down formula, which can cause seizures in infants.

“It is a particular worry about parents doing substitutes or trying to stretch the formula out,” Dr. Magna Dias, a pediatrician and associate professor at Yale School of Medicine, told NPR last month. “And there’s a couple of worries there. One — your baby may not be getting enough nutrition if you're not giving them all the calories that they need.

“And then the other thing is that babies — when they're little, their kidneys are not mature. And for that reason, they need that perfect formulation. Otherwise, it could actually cause them to get very sick and have to come to the hospital.”

Pediatricians say breast milk is best for infants, but if that’s not an option, formula is the best option.

“For babies who are not being breastfed, this is the only thing they eat," Dr. Steven Abrams, of the University of Texas, Austin, told The Associated Press. "So it has to have all of their nutrition and, furthermore, it needs to be properly prepared so that it’s safe for the smallest infants.”

Switching brands is OK for most healthy infants, but parents whose babies need specialized formulas should talk to their health care providers before making a change, pediatricians advise.

To address the shortages, Chicago-based Abbott is increasing production at its other manufacturing plants, and is bringing jet loads of formula from its plants in Ireland to the United States.

“Unfortunately, many of those very specialized formulas are only made in the United States at the factory that had the recall, and that's caused a huge problem for a relatively small number of infants," Abrams said.

The FDA said Abbott is still working “to rectify findings related to the processes, procedures and conditions.” Other infant formula makers are “meeting or exceeding capacity levels to meet current demand,” the agency said.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.