They question if FDA followed recall processes.
Last week, legislators questioned officials from the Food and Drug administration over what they viewed as a lack of urgency in the agency’s response to complaints about possible baby formula contamination at the Michigan plant.
Federal investigators have now launched a review into whether the FDA properly inspected Abbott Laboratories’ plant and how the agency oversaw the baby formula recall that has led to severe U.S. shortages.
The review is expected to be completed in 2023 and will be conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General. A notice posted on its website said, “We will determine whether the FDA followed the inspections and recall process for infant formula in accordance with federal requirements.”
Although the first complaints were received in October, the FDA did not begin its inspection of the plant until late February. A whistleblower said that top officials at the FDA never saw the complaints. The FDA subsequently closed the plant and recalled baby formula made there, deepening a nationwide shortage that has left parents scrambling to feed their infants.
President Biden said he did not know of the shortage until April. Last month, he invoked the Cold War-era Defense Production Act to shore up supplies, with formulas being imported from other countries.
On May 19, the FDA said the Abbott facilities would open again in “two weeks,” but the Abbott officials said it could take a month or more for production to commence.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For discernment for the president and his administration as they facilitate the production and import of baby formula.
- For the HHS inspector general as the investigation proceeds.
- For FDA officials as they evaluate the safety of nutrition goods and products.
Sources: Wall Street Journal, Financial Post, Washington Post
