Baby Formula Plant At Center Of Shortage Stops Production After Floods

STURGIS, MI — A troubled baby formula plant in Western Michigan was forced to shut down after severe storms rolled through the area Monday night, Abbott announced Wednesday.

Company officials said the powerful storms overwhelmed the city’s stormwater drains, causing significant flooding inside the Sturgis plant.

The shutdown will delay the production and distribution of new baby formula for a few weeks, while they clean and re-sanitize the plant, officials said.

"We have informed FDA and will conduct comprehensive testing in conjunction with the independent third party to ensure the plant is safe to resume production," Abbott officials said in a statement. "This will likely delay production and distribution of new product for a few weeks."

However, company officials did say they believe the plant has enough supply of EleCare and most of its specialty and metabolic formulas to meet demand until production resumes.

The company said it produced 8.7 million pounds of infant formula in June, or 95 percent of what it made in January, the month before the federal investigation shut down production at the Sturgis plant.

The baby formula plant had restarted production of EleCare and other specialty and metabolic formulas on June 4, after it was closed for several months because of a bacterial infection that was traced back to the plant. The plant's months-long shutdown exacerbated a nationwide baby formula shortage.