Baby foods in usa


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After months of breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, it can be surprising to realize that your still-tiny baby is actually ready for “real” food. This exciting (albeit messy!) transition may be a little bittersweet and can feel overwhelming, especially considering the numerous baby food options available in 2022.

We’ve rounded up some of this year’s best baby foods to help you get started on the right foot — er, spoon.

Both the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend exclusively breastfeeding babies for the first 6 months of life. Formula-fed infants are ready to start solid foods when they start showing signs that they’re ready.

In some cases, you may start solids around 4 or 5 months, but it’s best to discuss this with your pediatrician. If your doctor doesn’t have a different recommendation, most babies are ready to start soft or pureed foods by the time they’re about 6 months old.

If you’re picking commercially prepared baby food (versus making your own), it’s wise to start with simple, one-ingredient baby food. Most commercial baby food is labeled stage 1, 2, or 3 based on the texture and number of ingredients.

For instance, stage 1 baby food has the smoothest texture and typically has one ingredient, such as pureed pears. So, for your 4- to 6-month-old, you’ll want to start with stage 1 baby food.

Starting with one food at a time helps you monitor for any adverse reactions or food allergies. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology recommends monitoring each food for 3 to 5 days.

There isn’t really a perfect first food — the choice is yours! Some good foods to start: infant cereal (preferably oat or whole grain), meat purees such as chicken or turkey, or single-ingredient purees of fruits or veggies.

If you’re debating whether to start with fruits or veggies first, the AAP suggests that an infant’s preferences for sweets won’t budge even if veggies are introduced first. Mashed peas just don’t taste as good once you’ve had applesauce.

We chatted with pediatricians, read the research, polled real-life parents, read reviews, and used our own babies as taste testers (although we can’t say their opinions on nutritional value are very authoritative) to bring you some of the top baby food brands available. In addition:

  • We looked for foods that are certified USDA organic and have non-GMO verified ingredients.
  • We focused on baby food that’s free of added sugar (but have called out one or two products that contain it).
  • The baby foods on our list are free of harmful preservatives.
  • We called out the brands that market their products as gluten-free and allergen-free.

All products are also vetted by our medical standards team, which evaluates brand integrity and product safety.

Reducing Exposure to Toxic Elements in Baby Foods

Three brands in this article — Gerber, Beech-Nut, and Happy Baby — were mentioned in a February 2021 Congressional Report for products containing significantly high levels of toxic heavy metals, including arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury. The FDA has since launched the Closer to Zero: Action Plan for Baby Foods to address exposure to toxic elements from eating baby foods.

  • Best overall baby food: Beech-Nut Naturals Stage 1
  • Best organic baby food pouches: Plum Organics Stage 1
  • Best budget-friendly baby food: Gerber Organic 1st Foods
  • Best baby food for constipation: Gerber Natural 1st Foods (Pear)
  • Best organic jarred baby food: Happy Baby Organics Clearly Crafted Stage 1
  • Best personalized subscription service: Cerebelly
  • Best fresh baby food: Once Upon a Farm Cold-Pressed Organic Baby Food
  • Best first baby cereal: Gerber Organic 1st Foods Single Grain Cereal
  • Best, most interesting baby food blends: Little Spoon Complex Solids
  • Best all-around clean baby food: Baby Gourmet

Best overall baby food

Beech-Nut Naturals Stage 1

This affordable baby food is an all-around fan favorite. Beech-Nut baby foods come in recyclable glass jars and are available in both natural and organic varieties. Blends are available in every stage, from single-ingredient foods for brand-new eaters (like butternut squash and plum) to multi-food blends with chunkier textures for older babies.

The ingredients in Beech-Nut baby foods are simple, with no artificial additives. Plus, these little glass jars are available at most grocery stores, so they’re easy to find. However, while it’s great for recycling purposes, glass can be dangerous — always supervise your little one around glass.

Beech-Nut Naturals are free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) but not certified organic (unless you shop their organics line). They contain no added sugar.

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Best organic baby food pouches

Plum Organics Stage 1

If sustainability, organic foods, and non-GMO ingredients are important to you, Plum Organics has a great line of baby food options to try.

Their BPA-free pouches are super convenient and available in a variety of fruits, veggies, and grains for each stage of eating. These foods have no added salts or sugars, so they’re nutritious and simple for baby’s maturing digestive system. They’re also widely available and can be purchased in bulk for greater savings.

And while feeding experts definitely discourage using pouches exclusively, there’s no denying that pouches are very convenient for occasional on-the-go feedings. To make sure your baby is still progressing in their journey through solid foods, try squeezing the pouch contents into a spoon. And be sure to watch out for the small plastic caps, as they’re a choking hazard.

Plum Organics is certified organic and non-GMO, and their baby food doesn’t contain added sugar.

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Best budget-friendly baby food

Gerber Organic 1st Foods

Gerber is the classic baby food brand, and they’ve made changes over the last few years to make their food more health-conscious (e. g., starting an organic line). Yet they have maintained their status as one of the most affordable prepared baby food brands on the market.

They offer benefits like glass jars, organic ingredients, and a wide variety of food choices at a lower cost than some other brands on our list.

Gerber Organic is USDA organic, non-GMO, and free of added sugar.

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Best baby food for constipation

Gerber Natural 1st Foods (Pear)

Sometimes babies get a little constipated when they’re beginning their solid food journey, especially if they’re eating a lot of dairy or iron-fortified cereal. In addition to continuing breast milk, some foods may help relieve your little one’s digestive discomfort, including all the “P” fruits.

So prunes, pears, plums, and peaches are some options to help keep tiny bowels on the move. You can find great fruit purees in any brand on our list, but one of the more cost-effective is the Gerber brand. The good news is that many babies love fruit, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get your little one to down some prunes or pears.

This product is made with non-GMO ingredients and pears grown with Clean Field Farming practices. It doesn’t contain added sugars.

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Best organic jarred baby food

Happy Baby Organics Clearly Crafted Stage 1

Another great organic baby food option, the Happy Baby company offers their organic baby food jars at most stores — although not quite as widely as Beech-Nut and Plum Organics.

Happy Baby jars offer a wide variety of foods, from kale and mango to spinach and peaches and chia seeds. You can start with their single-ingredient jars (this is important for ruling out allergies, as well as to help baby learn to like spinach even when it’s not disguised by pears). Then, you can move on to their fruit and veggie blends as your little one grows.

High quality ingredients, creative flavors, and no artificial ingredients all make Happy Baby a solid (no pun intended) choice.

Happy Baby is USDA organic and doesn’t contain added sugars.

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Best personalized subscription service

Cerebelly

Cerebelly allows you to personalize your subscription of baby food pouches based on your child’s age, leaning on science to determine what foods will benefit them at their stage of development.

You’ll take a quiz that asks about the current development and language cues your baby is showing (responding to their name, grasping toys, using noises to show emotion, etc.). It also asks about motor, social, and visual skills.

The results will clue you in on key nutrients that may benefit your little one and customize your baby food pouches based on this.

To boot, the brand has earned the Clean Label Project Purity Award (which evaluates products for toxins and contaminants), is certified USDA organic, and contains no added sugars.

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Best fresh baby food

Once Upon a Farm Cold-Pressed Organic Baby Food

These organic, cold-pressed baby food pouches and cups are found in the refrigerated section at your grocery store (and yes, they have to be refrigerated at home). The company also has a subscription delivery option to make baby food even more convenient for your busy schedule.

Creative names like Wild Rumpus Avocado and Magic Velvet Mango will have you smiling, and the variety of flavors will (hopefully!) appeal to your little one. Once Upon a Farm offers a variety of food stages, so you can start with their purees and move on up to their finger and toddler foods as your baby grows.

Once Upon a Farm is certified organic and non-GMO. Their products contain no added sugars and are Clean Label Project certified.

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Best first baby cereal

Gerber Organic 1st Foods Single Grain Cereal

This simple cereal is a great first food for baby. You can mix this one-ingredient whole grain cereal with breast milk, formula, or water to provide your little one with some crucial nutrients (such as iron) and experience with spoons and textures.

The AAP recommends oatmeal or multigrain cereals over rice cereals, as they have a lower risk of exposure to chemicals such as arsenic (which is sometimes a concern with rice products).

As your baby gets used to other foods, you can also mix this cereal with fruit or yogurt to provide a heartier meal.

Gerber Organic is certified USDA organic and non-GMO, but this product does contain some added sugars.

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Best, most interesting baby food blends

Little Spoon Complex Solids

Once your baby is ready for more advanced blends, Little Spoon has a unique line of complex blends that contain multiple purees as well as other seeds and grains for texture.

For example, one blend contains quinoa, butternut squash, and apple. Another contains kale, white bean, pear, basil, quinoa, and avocado oil.

Little Spoon purees use certified organic and non-GMO ingredients. They’re free of added sugar.

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Best all-around clean baby food

Baby Gourmet

Baby Gourmet is another Clean Label Project Purity Award winner, which means they go above and beyond to ensure their baby food is free of harmful toxins that naturally occur in the environment.

This Canadian company is also set to donate 1 million meals to vulnerable populations by 2025. It’s founded and run by moms, which can be reassuring.

Baby Gourmet is certified organic and non-GMO by both U.S. and Canadian standards. All packaging is BPA-free. Products contain no added sugar.

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As a general guideline, it’s a good idea to start with iron-fortified baby cereals or pureed meats if your infant is breastfed. Breastfed babies are more likely to need extra iron than formula-fed babies.

It’s also advisable to start with simple, single-ingredient purees of meat, vegetables, and fruits.

Choosing brands that are certified organic, use BPA-free materials, and are conscious of using whole food ingredients (e.g., they don’t add “extras” like salt, sugar, or corn syrup) helps ensure a healthy start for your little one.

According to the AAP, you shouldn’t give babies under age 1 cow’s milk, honey, unpasteurized dairy, or undercooked meat, as these can be an infection risk for a baby’s developing immune system.

You’ll also want to avoid foods that are hard or sharp or present a choking risk (for instance, chips, nuts, popcorn, raisins, raw apples, raw carrots, whole grapes, hot dogs). For a more comprehensive guide to which foods to give and what to avoid, check out our article on infant nutrition and starting solids.

While experts used to advise waiting to introduce highly allergenic foods (such as dairy, wheat, nuts, and eggs) until after the first year, the experts now say that delayed introduction of these foods may increase a child’s risk of food allergies. So, with the guidance of your pediatrician, go ahead and introduce those foods within the first year.

Seek immediate emergency medical attention if you notice swelling of the tongue and mouth, wheezing, or trouble breathing after your child eats certain foods

Some babies are raring to go when it comes to trying food, while others may take a little more convincing. Either way, definitely get your camera on video mode, as there are bound to be some hilarious faces and some impressive food spillage along the way.

Here are some pro tips to help make the process as smooth as possible:

  • Wait until your baby shows signs of readiness for solid food.
  • Keep trying. It can take 5 to 10 exposures for a baby to accept a new food.
  • Make it fun and silly.
  • Cook and eat as a family as much as possible.
  • Let your baby play with the spoon and even the food! While incredibly messy, this helps them get comfortable with the textures, smells, and tastes of new foods.
  • Talk with your pediatrician if you have any questions or concerns. They’re a great resource and want to help you grow a happy, healthy baby.

What’s the best baby food for growth and weight gain?

If your baby is under 6 months and breastfeeding, it’s recommended that you stick to that exclusively for 6 months. When you’re ready to introduce solids after 6 months, it should be in addition to breastfeeding and formula, not as a replacement.

If your baby is formula-fed, they may begin eating solids sooner than 6 months. While no one specific food is recommended, a variety of foods and colors is best, including meats, vegetables, and fruits. One of the key foods that can help with growth and weight gain is avocados (high in healthy fats and fiber but low in sugar).

Always discuss your baby’s dietary changes with your pediatrician and attend regular checkups to monitor growth.

What’s the easiest food for babies to digest?

Just like adults, babies do best with regular bowel movements. If they’re having a hard time with this, oatmeal is one food known to be easy to digest and promote regularity, as it contains higher amounts of dietary fiber.

It may also help to focus on quantity. Try feeding your baby smaller meals more often, rather than fewer larger meals. This may be easier on their system and allow them to digest foods more easily.

What’s the best baby food to start with?

Mashed banana and avocado are some of the most popular solids to start with. Soft, ground oatmeal is also great. When it comes to fruit and vegetable purees, focus on variety, but don’t overdo it with those that are naturally high in sugar (such as berry purees).

Most importantly, at 6 months old, all foods should still be pureed and cooked. Once your baby is 9 months old and older, you can start to introduce vegetables cut into pieces. The only other no-no is honey, which they shouldn’t have until they’re over a year old.

It can feel like a lot of pressure to choose the best nutrition for your child, especially when trying to capitalize on the years before they start demanding chicken nuggets and ice cream. But there are a lot of great, healthy options available in 2022.

Whether you choose to make your own baby food, buy jars or pouches, or use a baby food subscription service, there are a number of resources to help you feed your baby.

Best Baby Foods Of 2022 – Forbes Health

New parents can feel overwhelmed with decision-making, and that includes what food to give your baby. There are so many different feeding styles to choose from, with an abundance of baby food options available in stores, from jars to pouches to cereals to purees.

We’ve decided to do the hard work for you by researching the best store-bought baby foods currently on the market, so you can spend your spare time catching up on some much-needed rest. To determine our ranking for the best baby foods of 2022, the Forbes Health editorial team analyzed an array of metrics including cost, product inventory, food formats and more. Read ahead for our top picks.

Note: All prices are accurate as of publication.

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  • Featured Partner
  • Best Baby Foods of 2022
  • Beech-Nut 8+ Months
  • Beech-Nut 6+ Months
  • Gerber 2nd Foods
  • Earth’s Best Organics
  • Happy Baby
  • Gerber 1st Foods
  • Mama Bear
  • Plum Organics Stage 2
  • Gerber 3rd Foods
  • Research Methodology
  • Determining What Type of Food Your Baby Needs  
  • What Ingredients To Look for in Baby Food
  • Next Up In Family

Sources

References

  • Your Baby’s Food: Homemade or Store Bought?. Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. Accessed 02/17/2022.
  • Foods and Drinks to Encourage. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed 02/17/2022.
  • When, What, and How to Introduce Solid Foods. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed 02/17/2022.
  • Feeding Guide for the First Year. Stanford Children's Health. Accessed 02/17/2022.
  • Cereal in a Bottle: Solid Food Shortcuts to Avoid. Healthy Children from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Accessed 02/25/2022.
  • Working Together: Breastfeeding and Solid Foods. Healthy Children from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Accessed 02/25/2022.
  • How Much and How Often to Breastfeed. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed 02/25/2022.
  • How Much and How Often to Feed Infant Formula. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed 02/25/2022.

Information provided on Forbes Health is for educational purposes only. Your health and wellness is unique to you, and the products and services we review may not be right for your circumstances. We do not offer individual medical advice, diagnosis or treatment plans. For personal advice, please consult with a medical professional.

Forbes Health adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. To the best of our knowledge, all content is accurate as of the date posted, though offers contained herein may no longer be available. The opinions expressed are the author’s alone and have not been provided, approved or otherwise endorsed by our advertisers.

how the United States allowed a shortage of infant formula

"Hungry children of the superpower" - articles with such headings actually flooded all the world's media. The fact is that in the United States for several months there has been an acute shortage of food for the smallest, and in May the volume of supply of infant formula dropped to catastrophic levels - almost twice.

The crisis is so serious that in some regions of the country "artificial milk" is delivered by military aircraft from Europe, and the parents of others are offered to feed their babies ... with cow's milk, warning that it is dangerous. American mothers spend hours every day looking for food for their babies, they dilute formulas and underfeed their babies. What happened in well-fed America, and is the same going on for Russia?

Lethal mixtures

Experts from different countries are unanimous in their opinion: the causes of the crisis in the US baby food market are exclusively internal - monopoly in the economy, plus excessive, but, as it turned out, ineffective government regulation, as well as protectionism.

It all started when, in the fall of 2021, four parents filed a complaint with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that their children had contracted a rare and dangerous bacterial infection, Cronobacter sakazakii, after taking infant formula. which resulted in death in two cases. Another application was filed by the parents of an infant who was hospitalized with E. coli Salmonella Newport.

However, Abbott Nutrition, the largest manufacturer of infant formula in the United States, did not arrive until January 31, 2022. They found five different strains of Cronobacter there and identified serious food safety violations, or, as FDA Executive Director Dr. Robert Kaliff called them, "blatant unsanitary conditions": a leaking roof, standing water on the floor, and cracked production equipment.

A photo: AP

At the end of the review, in mid-February, Abbott Nutrition, remarkably, voluntarily recalled batches of goods from stores and suspended the production line until the problem was corrected.

As a result, the country was left without a supplier for about 20% of all produced mixtures for many months. And since 90% of the American formula market is controlled by only four large companies - that same Abbot, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Nestle USA and Perrigo - the closure of even one plant has predictably led to a sharp reduction in production and disruption of supply chains.

The scale of the disaster

According to the Datasembly service, by the beginning of May, the shortage of mixtures in 11 thousand stores in the United States reached 43%. At the moment, already in 25 states, food for babies is not available in 40-50% of stores, and in five states - in more than half of the outlets. The mayor of New York at the end of May introduced a state of emergency in the city, prohibiting, in particular, retailers from raising prices for scarce goods. “We want to tell mothers and families who are struggling that our city will do everything in its power to help you get through this difficult time,” said Eric Adams.

But parents of infants across the US continue to complain on social media, calling for media coverage and political action, posting photos of empty store shelves as the nation's infant formula shortage continues to worsen despite government encouragement.

A photo: AP

"The problem is exacerbated by supply chain issues, product recalls and inflation at historic levels," said Ben Reich, CEO of analytics firm Datasembly. Many retailers have already restricted formula milk sales. For example, CVS and Walgreens pharmacy chains reported that they now sell no more than three packs in one hand, Target supermarket - no more than four packs in one order when buying via the Internet. The FDA cites data that baby food manufacturers Gerber (USA) and Reckitt (UK) have increased the production of infant formula since the beginning of the year - by 50% and 30%, respectively. But this does not contribute at all to the way out of the crisis.

According to experts, the main problem is that the manufacturers remaining in the US market do not make enough formulas, including for children with metabolic diseases, allergies and other conditions that require a special diet. News portal Minnesota Public Radio reports that due to nutritional problems, there are already cases of hospitalization of children in Tennessee, Georgia, Wisconsin and other states.

Clearly, for a reason, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched an investigation into the shortage in the infant formula market. In its framework, the FTC intends to determine whether someone took advantage of the shortage of milk formula to inflate prices, whether anyone prevented this product from reaching regular stores, whether federal agencies unintentionally contributed to this shortage in any way, or state authorities.

Powerless authorities

On May 18, US President Joe Biden invoked the Defense Production Act, which allows businesses to be forced to fulfill certain orders, and allowed the use of Department of Defense aircraft to deliver products from abroad. It also required suppliers to ship ingredients to infant formula makers before any other companies.

Why did Biden go to such extreme measures? Because the ability of the federal authorities to influence private business, especially urgently, is limited, experts state. In fact, the administration took advantage of its own experience in solving problems that it gained during the pandemic in 2020, when the country needed to increase the production of respirators, masks, ventilators and other means to combat COVID-19.

A photo: Others

Indeed, on May 23, the first plane landed at the Indianapolis airport (Indiana), delivering 35.4 thousand kg of Nestle lactose-free hypoallergenic food from Europe. But this supply can only cover 15% of the weekly requirement for such mixtures. Agriculture Minister Tom Vilsack, in an interview with NBC News, said that this amount would be enough for 9,000 babies and 18,000 toddlers within 7 days. Another batch of Nestle mixtures should be delivered from Europe to the United States by the logistics company FedEx - its plane with this cargo will fly from the Ramstein military base in Germany.

The outrage of Americans knows no bounds. FoxNews journalists blame US Secretary of Health and Human Services Javier Becerra, who is in charge of the FDA, for the empty shelves: according to them, he did nothing for months.

"Why does a person with zero experience in healthcare run the largest medical department in the country?" - outraged in live broadcasts a well-known leading and conservative political commentator Stuart Varney. “Another question arises: when did President Biden learn about the growing deficit? The aides must have told him about it. Is he being misinformed or is he dragging his feet again?” Varney demands an answer.

A photo: iStock

According to The Washington Post, Abbott CEO Robert Ford apologized for the shortfall and pledged to set up a $5 million fund to help affected families cover medical and living expenses until the supply crisis is resolved.

It also became known that Abbot, who provoked the crisis, agreed with the FDA to reopen its plant in Michigan in early June. However, it will take six to eight weeks before retail mix deliveries start. Many experts and laymen advise America to resolve children's issues within the country and not to get involved in the affairs of other countries.

Russia is safe

After the closure of the plant in the US, the company's branch in Israel, Abbott Israel, announced the withdrawal of mixtures of Similac Alimentum and Similac HMF (Human Milk Fortifier), produced at the same Michigan plant. There are also representative offices of Abbott in Russia. In particular, the Russian Veropharm factories in the Vladimir region, Belgorod and Voronezh produce Dufalac, Duspatalin, Duphaston drugs - but these are medicines, not baby food, Mel writes.

Abbott's main baby food brands in Russia are Similak, Similak Premium for healthy babies, Similak Hypoallergenic for children at high risk of allergies, Similak Low Lactose for lactose intolerant babies, Similak Antireflux, formulas for premature babies "Similak Special Care" and "Similak NeoSure", as well as a comprehensive and balanced diet "PediaSure", intended for children aged 1 to 10 years. They, according to the information on the packaging, are produced in Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands and Ireland. In other words, parents of Russian babies can remain calm, just like parents from other countries.

TRT Russian

Shortage of infant formula in the United States: why the state of emergency is introduced in cities and whether it threatens Russia

There is an acute shortage of infant formula in the United States. According to the Datasembly agency, in early May, the deficit in warehouses across the country was 43%. The crisis is so serious that dry food is delivered to certain regions on military aircraft from Europe. What happened and does the same thing happen to Russia?

What's happening with baby food in the US

In late 2021, four parents filed a complaint with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that after taking infant formula, their children contracted a rare and dangerous bacterial infection, Cronobacter sakazakii, which in two cases resulted in to death. Another application was filed by the parents of an infant who was hospitalized with Salmonella Newport.

On January 31, 2022, agency inspectors came to inspect Abbott Nutrition, the largest manufacturer of infant formula in the United States, and found serious food safety violations, and found five different strains of Cronobacter there (though not Cronobacter among them sakazakii). In mid-February, at the end of the review, Abbott Nutrition recalled batches of products from stores and suspended the production line until the problem was fixed. So the country was left without the largest plant for the production of infant formula for several months - a supplier of about 20% of all mixtures in the country.

Empty shelves in the infant formula department. USA. State of Georgia. Photo: Erik S. Lesser / EPA / TASS

According to Datasembly, the states of Iowa, Missouri, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas were the first to experience shortages, but now in 25 states infant formula is out of stock in 40-50% of stores, and in five states - in more than half of the outlets. In this regard, on May 18, US President Joe Biden applied the Defense Production Act and allowed the use of Department of Defense aircraft to deliver products from abroad. He also required suppliers to send ingredients to infant formula manufacturers before any other companies. And on May 22, the mayor of New York declared a state of emergency in the city due to the lack of milk formula for children - it prohibits retailers from raising prices for scarce goods.

The British Daily Mail reports that the remaining two monopolists, Walgreens and CVS, have imposed a ban on the sale of more than three units of baby food in one hand, and the popular online store Target.com - more than four. The FDA cites data that baby food manufacturers Gerber (USA) and Reckitt (UK) have increased the production of infant formula since the beginning of the year - by 50% and 30%, respectively.

How to solve this problem

However, the problem is that the manufacturers that remain on the market do not make enough formulas for children with metabolic diseases, allergies and other conditions that require a special diet. Parents are sounding the alarm: Minnesota Public Radio news portal reports that there are already cases of hospitalization of children in Tennessee, Georgia, Wisconsin and other states due to nutritional problems.

On May 23, USA Today reported that a military cargo plane arrived in Indianapolis carrying the first batch of Nestle hypoallergenic infant formula from Germany. In total, there were 35 tons of baby food on board. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, in an interview with NBC News, said that this amount would be enough for 9,000 babies and 18,000 toddlers within one week.

Military aircraft loaded with infant formula. USA. Indianapolis. Photo: Michael Conroy / AP / TASS

According to The Washington Post, Abbott CEO Robert Ford apologized for the deficit and promised to set up a $5 million fund to help affected families cover medical and living expenses until until the supply crisis is resolved.

When Abbot Laboratories returns to the market

Robert Ford told The Washington Post that Abbott Nutrition has retooled its adult food lines at its Ohio plant to produce pre-packaged liquid infant formula and shipped millions of cans of its most sought-after dry formula from its Irish facility . In March, the company reported that it did not detect Cronobacter sakazakii in any sample of the mixture at the Michigan plant (signs of bacteria were detected in the non-contact area with the product) and regularly conducts tests, hoping to eliminate all violations by the summer.

On May 16, the Court for the Western District of Michigan granted a reopening of proceedings after all violations were resolved. According to the head of the company, if the plant passes the test, new mixtures will appear on store shelves in 6-8 weeks.

Abbott will face $30,000 in damages for each day of violation if it fails to comply.

And what about in Russia

After the closure of the plant in the USA, the company's branch in Israel, Abbott Israel, announced the withdrawal of mixtures of Similac Alimentum and Similac HMF (Human Milk Fortifier), produced at the same Michigan plant. There are also representative offices of Abbott in Russia. In particular, the Russian Veropharm factories in the Vladimir region, Belgorod and Voronezh produce Dufalac, Duspatalin, Duphaston drugs - but these are medicines, not baby food.

The main brands of Abbott baby food in Russia are Similak, Similak Premium for healthy babies, Similak Hypoallergenic for children with a high risk of allergies, Similak Low Lactose for children with lactose intolerance, Similak Antireflux, formulas for premature babies "Similak Special Care" and "Similak NeoSure", as well as a comprehensive and balanced diet "PediaSure", intended for children aged 1 to 10 years.


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