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Parents Panic Over Baby Food Shortage

Shefali O'Hara
4 min readMay 8, 2022

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Whistleblower told us about this crisis months ago, but nothing was done

Photo by Phong Duong on Unsplash

On March 3, 2022, Representative Rose DeLauro, D-Conn., published a report indicting the Food and Drug Administration. According to the report, the agency was informed in September of 2021 that there was an issue with contamination of baby formula at n Abbott Nutrition factory in Michigan. According to DeLauro, “The FDA reacted too slowly to this report” in her letter demanding an immediate investigation.

Despite the potentially deadly consequences of this contamination, the agency failed to act for months. Several babies have sickened, some are in critical condition, and two have died. A recall was finally issued.

Congresswoman DeLauro has laid out a timeline that shows nothing but federal bumbling. She is the Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee and so her testimony carries weight. She points out that while a whistleblower came forward in October, the person wasn’t even interviewed until two months later. The plant was not inspected until the end of January of 2022, and the recall not issued until February 17th.

During a congressional hearing, DeLauro asked why it took so long for the FDA to act. She asked how many babies had been given contaminated formula during these months, and how many had died?

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Shefali O'Hara
Shefali O'Hara

Written by Shefali O'Hara

Cancer survivor, Christian, writer, engineer. BSEE from MIT, MSEE, and MA in history. Love nature, animals, books, art, and interesting discussions.

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