Second Irish plant joins drive to ease US infant formula crisis

Baby nutrition giant Danone has turned to its Irish plants to help ease an ongoing shortage in infant formula across the United States.

The French food group’s Wexford plant has become the second Irish milk powder plant to be drafted in to help fly emergency supplies to the US market after the largest American infant formula manufacturing plant was taken offline earlier this year because of concerns about contamination.

Abbott’s facility in Sturgis, Michigan, was shut after an FDA inspection that began in February found unsanitary conditions. The inspection was prompted by a federal investigation after four babies became ill having been given formula made there, two of whom died. The problems at Abbott led to big supply shortfalls, leaving many parents unable to find formula on store shelves.

Abbott’s plant in Cootehill, Co Cavan, has been airlifting supplies to the US in an effort to mitigate a crisis that has seen parents facing the prospect of paying hundreds of dollars for a can of formula, or travelling for hours to source rationed supplies — where they are available at all.

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Abbott’s US plant restarted production on a limited scale just under two weeks ago after being cleared by the FDA but shut again last week as heavy storms in the area overwhelmed the local stormwater defences, flooding part of the factory.

Abbott said it would assess the damage caused by the storms and resanitise the plant. The company said it expected the work would delay distribution of new product by a few weeks.

Delays extended

Even with the reopening earlier this month, it was expected to be mid-August before infant formula from the plant was on store shelves and even later before it was running at full capacity. The latest setback extends that timeline.

That puts the spotlight on Irish plants’ continuing ability to supplement US supplies under Operation Fly Formula, ordered by US president Joe Biden under emergency wartime powers that sees US military aircraft flying supplies of infant formula in from outside the US.

“As a leading manufacturer of baby formula globally, at Danone we understand how important it is for families to access these formulas. That is why, in response to the baby formula shortages in the United States, and in collaboration with the US authorities, we have continued to explore ways to increase production and supply to meet this critical need for American families and serve all the babies we can,” a spokeswoman for Danone said.

She said Danone had finalised plans, in conjunction with the FDA, to fly 750,000 cans of its Aptamil non-medical baby formula into the US from its Wexford finishing and distribution centre “to help mitigate the nationwide formula shortage”. Danone manufactures the Aptamil brand, alongside its Cow & Gate product, at its plant in Macroom, Co Cork.

Danone says Aptamil is the No 1 formula brand in Ireland, the UK and Europe. It will be made available to American families starting in July.

“As we scale up our efforts to help alleviate the US shortages, we want to assure parents outside of the US that we are increasing production and supply overall and we will continue to serve families in all countries in which we are present,” the company said.

Danone is already airlifting specialist medical formula for babies with an allergy to cow’s milk from other plants in Europe.

Abbott’s Cootehill plant has been supplying about 1.45 million pounds of formula a week to the US market, with the company operating six to eight flights a day from the Republic into 12 US airports.