(Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it would allow the release of about 300,000 cans of EleCare amino acid-based infant formula by Abbott Laboratories.
The formula was previously produced at Abbott Nutrition’s Sturgis, Michigan, facility. The regulator said it will be released to “individuals needing urgent, life-sustaining supplies” on a case-by-case basis.
Abbott in February recalled some baby formulas including Similac and closed its Sturgis manufacturing plant, creating one of the biggest infant formula shortages in recent history for U.S. families.
The biggest U.S. supplier of powder baby formula shut its facility after reports of bacterial infections among four infants. It exacerbated a shortage among multiple manufacturers that began with supply-chain issues tied to the coronavirus pandemic.
The FDA said it has informed U.K’s Kendal Nutricare that the agency is exercising enforcement discretion for the import of certain infant formula under the Kendamil brand.
The regulator said the U.K.-based company initially expects about 2 million cans to land on U.S. store shelves beginning in June.
“Kendal Nutricare currently has over 40,000 cans in stock for immediate dispatch and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has initiated conversations to evaluate options for getting the products to the U.S. as quickly as possible,” the FDA said.
(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
