Baby Formula Makers to Testify Before Congress Next Week Amid Nationwide Shortage

Statement

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) -- chair of the House panel that oversees the FDA and is spearheading the ongoing investigation into the nationwide shortage of baby formula -- announced today that the panel will hold a hearing next week to hear directly from three of the nation's largest baby formula manufacturers about what's causing the shortage and what needs to be done to fix it.

The House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations panel hearing will begin Wednesday, May 25, at 11:00 a.m. ET and comes as parents across the country are struggling to find the formula they need to feed their children.

"There's no excuse for what's happening all across this country right now," DeGette said. "Ensuring every parent and infant has access to the formula they need has become an all-hands-on-deck effort and one of our committee's top priorities. We want to know from the witnesses we hear from next week exactly what happened and how it happened; but more importantly we want to know what needs to be done to get more infant formula on the shelves as quick as possible."

As part of its investigation, DeGette said the panel will hear next week from top executives at Abbott Nutrition, Gerber Products Company, and Reckitt -- three of the nation's largest manufacturers of infant formula. The panel will also hear directly from FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, as well as other senior FDA officials responsible for overseeing the formula makers.

Both Abbott Nutrition and FDA have come under fire for their handling of reports of contamination at an Abbott facility in Sturgis, Michigan, that led to the plant being shut down. The halt in production at the Sturgis facility -- which is one of the largest baby formula manufacturing facilities in the country -- has drastically reduced the nation's supply of baby formula.

While FDA announced this week that it has reached an agreement with Abbott to restart manufacturing at the Sturgis facility soon, the company says it could still take several weeks to get production at the plant up and running once again.

In an effort to increase supply in the meantime, FDA announced it has taken additional steps to streamline the process for foreign manufacturers to safely import additional formula into the U.S.

Additional details regarding next week's hearing will be provided as they become available.

Following is a list of witnesses that will be appearing at the hearing:

Robert M. Califf, M.D.

Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration

Frank Yiannas

Deputy Commissioner, Food Policy and Response, Food and Drug Administration

Susan Mayne, Ph.D.

Director, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration

Christopher J. Calamari

President, US and Canada Nutrition; and Senior Vice President, Abbott

Scott Fitz

Vice President, Technical & Production, Gerber Products Company

Robert Cleveland

Senior Vice President, Nutrition, North America and Europe, Reckitt

Source