HOUSTON – Medical experts with Texas Children’s Hospital will provide parents with useful information about the baby formula shortage Wednesday.
Dr. Stan Spinner, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Texas Children’s Pediatrics and Urgent Care, and Dr. Amy Hair, Neonatologist and Program Director for Neonatal Nutrition, are expected to speak at the event.
A question and answer session will also take place after the speakers present.
Many parents have been hunting for infant formula because of a combination of short- and long-term problems that has hit most of the biggest U.S. brands, the Associated Press said.
Ongoing supply disruptions have combined with a recent safety recall to leave many pharmacy and supermarket shelves bare.
The problems began last year as the COVID-19 pandemic led to disruptions in labor, transportation and raw materials — economy-wide issues that didn’t spare the formula industry. Inventory was further squeezed by parents stockpiling during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Then in February, Abbott Nutrition recalled several major brands of powdered formula and shut down its Sturgis, Michigan, factory when federal officials began investigating four babies who suffered bacterial infections after consuming formula from the facility.
Abbott is one of only a handful of companies that produce the vast majority of the U.S. formula supply, so their recall wiped out a large segment of the market.
Additionally, the Houston Food Bank says they’re experiencing a shortage in donations, however, they do not want people to drop extra cans off since the origin cannot quickly be traced.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.