Retailers, parents hit by U.S. dearth of infant formula

Retailers are limiting purchases of baby formula, while customers are struggling to find it at all, amid a shortage tied to a recent recall of Similac and other brands produced by Abbott Nutrition.

In February, Abbott recalled powdered formula manufactured at a Michigan plant after several babies fell ill with bacterial infections and two died, according to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. The recall exacerbated existing formula inventory troubles related to supply chain snarls and ingredient shortages brought on by the pandemic. Now, families in some parts of the country are finding formula tough to come by.

Target, Walmart, Kroger, Walgreens and CVS were rationing formula purchases online and in some stores as of Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported. A month ago, nearly 30% of formula products were out of stock across the U.S., according to research from Datasembly, a retail software company.

What started as a patchy shortage many months ago has grown into a nationwide problem, according to Neil Saunders, president of GlobalData Retail in New York.

“Baby formula is still available in some shops, but supply is very patchy and out of stocks arise very quickly,” Saunders told The Washington Post in an email. “Unfortunately, shortages encourage some people to buy in bulk and hoard, which further contributes to availability issues. This is why some retailers have put in place quantity restrictions.”

Consumers are having to “shop around” for formula, Saunders said, searching multiple locations and routinely encountering empty shelves and online out-of-stock messages.

As this is an “essential product” more than a discretionary one, “there is a lot of worry among parents,” Saunders added.

The February recall applies to certain formulas under the Similac, Alimentum and EleCare labels, in which the first two digits of the container code are 22 or 37; the code contains K8, SH or Z2; and has an expiration date of April 1 or later. Packages that don’t meet all of those conditions are not affected, according to the company and the FDA.

The affected products have already been pulled from shelves, but those worried can search for the lot number on the formula container on the Abbott website.