Abbott has paused production at its Michigan factory, which has been at the core of the country’s infant formula supply issue, due to strong storms that flooded portions of the facility.
After the FDA began examining four bacterial illnesses among children who received powdered formula from the company in February 2022, the facility in Sturgis, Michigan reopened on June 4 after being shuttered since February 2022. Two of the babies succumbed to their injuries.
The corporation maintains that its medicines are unrelated to the illnesses, which were caused by a variety of bacterial types.
Severe thunderstorms and torrential rains slammed through southern Michigan on Monday, flooding areas of the facility and forcing it to reopen.
Abbott said in a statement on Wednesday night that the plant needed to be assessed for damage and re-sanitized, but he didn’t say how much damage it had incurred.
Although production of its EleCare specialized formula has been halted, the business claims that there is sufficient supply to fulfill demand until it resumes.
‘On Monday evening, severe thunderstorms and heavy rains swept across southwestern Michigan, causing strong gusts, hail, power outages, and flood damage across the region,’ Abbott said in a statement.
‘These heavy storms dumped a lot of rain in a short amount of time, overloading the city’s drainage system in Sturgis, Michigan, and causing flooding in several portions of the city, including our facility.
‘As a result, Abbott has halted manufacture of its EleCare specialized formula, which had been in progress, in order to assess storm damage and clean and disinfect the factory.’ We’ve notified the FDA, and we’ll do extensive testing with the help of an independent third party to guarantee the plant is safe to restart production.
This will most certainly cause a few weeks’ delay in the manufacturing and marketing of new products.’
The business prioritized increasing manufacturing of the specialized formula for infants with severe food allergies and digestive issues who have few alternative nutritional options.
After the Food and Drug Administration began examining four bacterial illnesses in children who took powdered formula from the mill, the production was shut down. Two of the babies succumbed to their injuries. The corporation maintains that its medicines are unrelated to the illnesses, which were caused by a variety of bacterial types.
FDA investigators eventually discovered bacterial contamination, a leaking roof, and inadequate safety practices at the business.
In February, Abbott issued a recall for many popular formula products, including Similac. Supply chains had already been stretched by supply chain interruptions and stockpiling during COVID-19 shutdowns, thus this added to the pressure.
In its statement, the corporation gave no time period for when manufacturing will resume.