After resuming desperately needed baby formula production, Abbott Laboratories announced that it has abruptly halted operations yet again.
The company cited severe weather, including torrential downpours, in Michigan flooded its Sturgis plant, which subsequently halted production for its EleCare baby formula.
Abbott reported that the serious weather has inhibited its operations by at least a few weeks, and it has also notified the FDA about the severe disruption to operations.
The closure of Abbott’s Sturgis facility emerges mere weeks after it had reopened production in order to alleviate a serious shortage of baby formula across the nation, which has sent numerous American families scrambling to acquire nutritional necessities for their newborn children.
However, the company insists that it currently has a large enough supply of baby formula to supply the nation’s needs, according to a recent release from the company.
“Abbott has ample existing supply of EleCare and most of its specialty and metabolic formulas to meet needs for these products until new product is available,” the company remarked.
The FDA has reaffirmed Abbott’s declaration, with the federal agency sending out numerous tweets designed to assuage Americans’ fears regarding another critical shortage of baby formula.
Robert Califf, who serves as the FDA Commissioner, declared that various producers, including Abbott, have produced baby formula at “higher than average rates.”
“This means that the total amount of formula available, even before the Sturgis plant is back in production, exceeds the demand for formula prior to the recall,” Califf boomed.
In February, Abbott also shut down operations following a recall of the company’s infant formula products, which in turn exacerbated supply chain issues across the nation.
As a result of the shutdown, global corporations have started exporting baby formula products to the United States, though the supply was unable to align with demand, warranting the need to resume Abbott’s domestic production as quickly as possible.
The corporation stated that it will restart production of EleCare baby formula “as soon as possible,” once the plant has undergone necessary re-sanitization procedures.
