Sen. Booker Wants To Trustbust Baby Formula Makers Over Shortage

NEW JERSEY — A U.S. senator from New Jersey and seven of his peers are calling for federal authorities to carry out an antitrust review of the baby formula industry, as a nationwide shortage continues to leave many U.S. parents feeling “terrified.”

On Friday, Sen. Cory Booker – a Newark resident – Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and five other Democratic senators reached out to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), urging the agency to address an “extremely high level of corporate concentration in the infant formula marketplace.”

The letter was co-signed by senators Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Tina Smith of Minnesota, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Patrick Leahy of Vermont.

The senators’ plea comes amid reports of formula shortages across the nation, including Booker’s home state of New Jersey.

• See related article: Baby Formula Shortage Causes Parents To Scramble (5 Things To Know)
• See related article: Baby Formula Shortage In NJ; Major Stores Place Limits On Buying

Many experts are blaming pandemic supply chain issues – made worse by recent baby formula recalls – for the shortages. But according to Booker and the other senators, there may be a deeper source of the problem.

As they wrote in their letter to the USDA:

“The infant formula industry has reached an alarming level of corporate concentration with four companies–Abbott Nutrition, Mead Johnson, Gerber, and Perrigo–controlling nearly 90% of the infant formula market. Abbott Nutrition, the manufacturer of products currently under recall, alone controls around 40% of the infant formula market. This level of concentration has created a fragile system unable to adequately respond to shocks in the supply chain. Unfortunately, this puts our most vulnerable populations at risk, and disproportionately impacts low-income families who rely on programs such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).”

The senators continued:

“The extremely high levels of concentration in the infant formula market creates a serious risk to infant health if there is any disruption to a major manufacturer’s supply. Therefore, this issue merits immediate antitrust review. While federal contracting may have played a role in the consolidation of the infant formula market, corporate food giants shoulder the majority of the responsibility of hyper consolidation across the food system. This is yet another example of how alarming levels of consolidation hurts American families and can no longer be ignored.”

SEEKING A FEDERAL SOLUTION

Booker isn’t the only lawmaker from New Jersey to seek a federal solution to the formula shortage.

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith – a Republican from the state’s 4th district – has introduced a bill that seeks to ease the shortage by requiring the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to agree to international standards that will allow the importing of formula.

The United States does not currently import foreign infant formula because the FDA does not have interchangeable standards in place to ensure foreign formula meets U.S. health code and regulations. The U.S. produces 98 percent of the infant formula it consumes. Read More: Rep. Smith Pushes For FDA To Allow Baby Formula Imports

There are six major baby formula manufacturers that are registered with the FDA, according to FoxBusiness.com. The brands include Abbott Nutrition, Mead Johnson Nutritionals (Bristol-Myers Squibb Company), Nestle Infant Nutrition, PBM Nutritionals, Prolacta Biosciences, Inc., and Nutricia North America (SHS International Limited).

Abbott Nutrition – which was singled out by Booker and the other senators on Friday – produces Similac, one of the few brands of formula available for sale in the U.S. due to the strict regulations from the FDA. A 2011 report from the USDA found that Abbott accounted for 43 percent of total market sales, Forbes.com reported.

In February, the FDA warned consumers not to use certain powdered infant formula products from Abbott Nutrition’s facility in Sturgis, Michigan, with Abbott carrying out a voluntary recall of certain products. Since that time, the agency has been working with Abbott and other manufacturers to bring safe products to the U.S. market, spokespeople said last week.

“We recognize that many consumers have been unable to access infant formula and critical medical foods they are accustomed to using and are frustrated by their inability to do so,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said.

“We are doing everything in our power to ensure there is adequate product available where and when they need it,” Califf said.

In the meanwhile, it’s worth noting that companies such as Abbott may be the only ones currently able to solve the problem, the FDA stated.

“It’s important to understand that only facilities experienced in and already making essentially complete nutrition products are in the position to produce infant formula product that would not pose significant health risks to consumers,” the FDA said.

The agency continues to advise against making infant formulas at home, and encourages caregivers to work with their child’s health care provider for recommendations on changing feeding practices, if needed.

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