What is causing the Baby Formula shortage? Situation reaches crisis levels with major brands going out of stock

The United States was facing a debilitating Baby Formula shortage over the past few months, but the situation has now escalated to crisis levels. Drugstore chains across the nation have hauntingly empty shelves in the aisles dedicated to the product, as all the top-selling brands are grappling with their supply going out of stock.

The plight has caused skyrocketing distress amongst parents of infants who have no reassurance of the crisis ending any time soon.

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Why is there such a massive Baby Formula shortage in the US?

According to a recent Datasembly assessment of infant formula stock at more than 11,000 outlets, 40% of the top-selling Baby Formula products were out of stock at retailers across the United States, as of the week ending April 24. Between April 3 and April 24, national out-of-stock levels increased by nine percentage points, from 31% to 40%. This is a significant increase from 18% in January, 11% in November, and 3% a year ago.

Ben Reich, founder and CEO of Datasembly, issued a statement saying:

“This is a shocking number that you don't see for other categories. Inflation, supply chain shortages, and product recalls have brought an unprecedented amount of volatility for baby formula. We expect to continue to see the baby formula category being dramatically affected by these conditions.”

Supply-chain problems connected to COVID-19 have led to a nationwide scarcity of Baby Formula. Manufacturers are still having trouble procuring essential ingredients, dealing with labor shortages and solving packaging issues. Production and delivery are thus heavily impaired.

The crisis was exacerbated by Abott Laboratories' recall in the first few months of the year. Leading formula manufacturer Abott Laboratories issued a recall of several batches from their Michigan plant in February. They made the move due to reports of four infants being hospitalized and two dying from consumption of their products. It affected some of the most popular brands, including Similac, Similac PM 60/40, Alimentum, and EleCare.

In desperation, several mothers have turned to old-school recipes for homemade formula, but pediatrician Dr. Meg Meeker vehemently warns against it:

“The answer to parents giving homemade formula to their babies is NO! It is very dangerous. We know a lot about this because many years ago parents used to make it — but babies got very sick. Homemade formulas can have contaminates because they haven't been properly handled. But more important problems relate to poor nutrition.”

Dr. Meeker outlined the shortfalls of the two most common substitutes, cow milk and goat milk:

“Specifically when parents use cow's milk, it has good protein but lacks the necessary iron for baby's growth. This can lead to iron deficiency in children and is the reason we postpone giving babies cow's milk until after they are a year old. Some parents use goat's milk — and this is equally dangerous — it lacks enough vitamin B12 and vitamin D.”

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Recent updates

The Infant Nutrition Council of America said in a recent statement:

“Infant formula manufacturers are actively working with suppliers, distributors, retailers and state agencies to ensure availability and access to infant formula products, to quickly address the needs of babies everywhere.”

In an attempt to curb panic mass-buying, retailers like Walmart, Target, Walgreens, and CVS Health have placed limits on how many Baby Formula products consumers can purchase at a time.

Citing "increased demand and various supplier issues," Walgreens and CVS Health have imposed a limit of three Baby Formula products per purchase in stores and online. Meanwhile, Target has placed a limit of up to four products per purchase.