Thursday 2 June 2022 07:19 PM Biden administration launches an audit of the FDA's actions on Abbott plant ... trends now
The Biden administration has launched an audit into the FDA's actions around the February closure of Abbott Nutrition's baby formula plant as the White House struggles to answer why President Joe Biden didn't know about the shortage until April.
The Department Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General announced the audit, which will also examine the Food and Drug Administration's decision to recall baby formula.
The review will examine whether the FDA upheld its duty 'to safeguard the nation's food supply, including infant formula and ensure all ingredients are safe,' the IG office said.
The Sturgis, Michigan, plant was shut down in February after contamination issues inside were linked to four infants being hospitalized with a rare bacterial infection. Two of the infants died.
But the closure also triggered a nation-wide shortage of baby formula, leading to empty grocery store shelves and frantic parents.
The findings from the review are expected until 2023.
But the announcement comes amid national outrage about the formula shortage and why the Biden administration wasn't more prepared to counter it.
The White House has struggled to explain its response, its monitoring of the formula, and its overhandling of the job.
The administration has emphasized the safety issue aspect of baby formula, touted its recent work in importing formula from Europe and Australia, and even launched a website to brag about its 'progress by the numbers.'
But what officials can't say is when the shortage will end.
The Biden administration has launched an audit into the FDA's actions around the February closure of Abbott Nutrition's baby formula plant in Strugis, Michigan
White House has struggled to answer why President Joe Biden didn't know about the baby formula shortage until April
Questions about Abbott's quality control and sanitation issues have been raised by the federal agency for months.
In September 2021, the FDA conducted a four-day inspection of the Abbott Laboratories plant in Sturgis, Michigan.
The inspection report revealed the plant 'did not maintain' clean and sanitary conditions in at least one building that manufactured, processed, packaged or held baby formula.
In October, a whistleblower sends the FDA a 34-page document outlining potential concerns with the Sturgis plant.
The employee accused the plant of lax cleaning practices, falsifying records, releasing untested infant formula, and hiding information during an FDA audit in 2019, among other issues.
But the report was in limbo at the FDA for months. Officials told Congress they didn’t receive that report last fall