Wednesday 1 June 2022 09:16 PM Baby formula execs tell Biden they knew Abbott closure would cause 'serious' ... trends now
Multiple baby formula manufacturers on Wednesday told President Joe Biden they knew the shutting down of the Abbott plant in February would lead to shortages and that they warned the FDA about it.
Their comments are raising questions about why Biden and his administration didn't act faster to get more formula produced and onto store shelves. The closure resulted in a bare grocery store shelves, a major hike in formula prices and frantic parents worried about feeding their children.
Biden defended his administration's response, saying they 'kicked everything into gear' when they knew how bad the problem was.
'I don't think anyone anticipated the impact of one facility,' the president said, referring to the closure of Abbott's Michigan plant, which is a major producer of infant formula.
'Once we learned of the extent of it, and how broad it was, we've kicked everything in the gear. And I think we're on the way to be able to completely solve the problem,' he said in response to reporters' questions.
But when asked why the administration didn't act sooner, given the executives' warnings, Biden said he didn't know about it.
'They did, but I didn't,' he said. He revealed he first learned of the issue in April.
But, in a sitdown with formula manufacturers to talk about how they were amping up their production and distribution, multiple executives said they saw the shortages coming in February - and issued the appropriate warnings.
Robert Cleveland, an executive at Reckitt, told Biden that his company anticipated the impact the Abbott formula recall in February would have and they reached out retailers immediately.
'We knew from the very beginning this would be a very serious event,' he said during the zoo meeting. 'We were aware of the general impact that this would have.'
He said they advised retailers like Target and Walmart to order more formula and to push everything in inventory onto the shelves.
Multiple baby formula manufacturers told President Joe Biden they knew the shutting down of the Abbott plant in February would lead to shortages
President Biden met with leaders of baby formula manufacturers ByHeart, Bubs Australia, Reckitt, Perrigo Co. and Gerber
And Murray Kessler, CEO of Perrigo Company, which manufacturers generic brands of formula, said they knew there would be a 'shortage.'
'The very first thing we did when we heard about the Abbott recall was we could foresee that this was going to create a tremendous shortage,' Kessler said.
He said they warned the Food and Drug Administration.
'We began communication with the FDA immediately, we began collaborating closely with the FDA, our retail customers and other stakeholders to identify and prioritize what was most critical,' he said.
