baby formula shortage continues to worsen as baby formula makers and the head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continue to face bipartisan grilling on what led to the national crisis.
For the week ending May 22, the out-of-stock rate for baby formula rose to 70% nationwide, according to recent data by retail data firm Datasembly.
It's a significant increase from the week prior when the national out-of-stock rate for baby formula stood at 45%.BABY FORMULA SHORTAGE: OUT-OF-STOCK RATE HITS 45% NATIONWIDE IN MAYShelves are empty at a grocery store during a baby formula shortage in the Brooklyn borough of New York, the United States, on May 24, 2022. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua via Getty Images) In February, Abbott temporarily shuttered the plant and issued a recall for some of its formula after the FDA detected positive samples of a rare-but-dangerous bacteria in multiple parts of the plant.
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf was questioned by lawmakers again on Wednesday during a congressional hearing on why the agency took months to inspect and shutter the plant despite learning of potential problems as early as September.WASHINGTON, D.C.