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Infant formula
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=== 2022 United States Baby Formula Shortages === [[2021β2022 global supply chain crisis|Supply chain disruptions]] related to the government response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States]] have been reported<ref name="US 2022 infant formula shortage β Reason" /> as responsible for causing widespread [[2022 United States infant formula shortage|shortages of infant formula]] in the United States, as of May 2022. This contrasts with far less severe shortages of infant formula around the globe. [[Reason (magazine)|Reason magazine]] reported that this was largely the result of [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) processes delaying approval of otherwise safe infant formula from Europe or other sources abroad, which might otherwise have eased demand for infant formula tensions in the United States.<ref name="US 2022 infant formula shortage β Reason">{{cite web |last1=Soave |first1=Robby |title=The U.S. Baby Formula Shortage Is the FDA's Fault |url=https://reason.com/2022/05/10/baby-formula-shortage-fda-approval-biden/ |website=reason.com |date=May 10, 2022 |publisher=Reason |access-date=13 May 2022}}</ref> As a result of the shortages, on May 16, 2022, the FDA announced that it would temporarily ease enforcement of some labeling rules to allow the importation of foreign formulas. FDA Commissioner [[Robert Califf]] stated, "Today's action paves the way for companies who don't normally distribute their infant formula products in the U.S. to do so efficiently and safely. We anticipate that those products that can quickly meet safety and nutrition standards could hit U.S. stores in a matter of weeks."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-encourages-importation-safe-infant-formula-and-other-flexibilities-further-increase-availability|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516223533/https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-encourages-importation-safe-infant-formula-and-other-flexibilities-further-increase-availability|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 16, 2022|title=FDA Encourages Importation of Safe Infant Formula and Other Flexibilities to Further Increase Availability |website=[[Food and Drug Administration]] |date=May 16, 2022}}</ref> Former FDA associate commissioner, Peter Pitts, asserts that the FDA's regulatory scheme is at least partially to blame for the shortage. Pitts states, "The difference between European baby formula and American baby formula, more or less, is that the labeling is different. The knot in getting that product into the U.S. isn't safety, it's a regulatory issue. I don't want to say it's a nitty issue, but it's certainly something the FDA could have jumped on a lot quicker."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://reason.com/2022/05/17/fda-baby-formula-peter-pitts-safety-european-shortage/|title=Former FDA Official: The Prohibition on European Baby Formula Isn't About Safety | date=May 17, 2022}}</ref> Amid and prior to the formula shortages, Woman and Infant Children (WIC) centers in Georgia and North Carolina were disposing of infant formula.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-news/georgia-destroys-thousands-of-dollars-worth-of-baby-formula-every-year-heres-why/NJWSS6MYCNE57GVXINABGAK4MU/|title=Georgia destroys thousands of cans of baby formula every year. Here's why. |newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=May 22, 2022|last1=Grinspan |first1=Lautaro }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wral.com/investigation-finds-nc-destroying-infant-formula-supplies-despite-shortages/20312111/|title=WRAL INVESTIGATES Investigation finds NC destroying infant formula supplies despite shortages |date=June 2, 2022}}</ref> This was done under the USDA's recommendation that unused, returned WIC infant formula were to be disposed of upon return.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fnsprod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/WPM-2020-1-DonationofUnsedReturnedInfantFormula.pdf |title=WIC Policy Memo 2020-1: Donation of Unsed Returned Infant Formula |date=December 12, 2019}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023}}</ref> Despite an attempt by the USDA to walk back this recommendation by stating that it is a recommendation rather than a requirement, the USDA confirms that it will not reverse this recommendation, even amid the formula shortage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://reason.com/2022/06/08/following-usda-guidance-state-clinics-destroyed-thousands-of-cans-of-usable-baby-formula/ |title=Following USDA Guidance, State Clinics Destroyed Thousands of Cans of Usable Baby Formula |date=June 8, 2022}}</ref> As a result, from October 2021 through May 2022, 16,459 cans of baby formula were destroyed by WIC clinics in Georgia and an unknown amount of baby formula cans were destroyed in North Carolina and other US States. On July 6, 2022, the FDA announced that it would change its rules to allow foreign formula manufacturers to permanently import their goods into the U.S., potentially reducing the severity of the shortage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-developing-new-framework-continued-expanded-access-infant-formula-options-us-parents-and|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706185158/https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-developing-new-framework-continued-expanded-access-infant-formula-options-us-parents-and|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 6, 2022|title=FDA Developing New Framework for Continued, Expanded Access to Infant Formula Options for U.S. Parents and Caregivers|website=[[Food and Drug Administration]] |date=July 6, 2022}}</ref> Critics of the FDA note that this does not remove the regulations entirely and that this shortage has been self-imposed by the FDA from the start.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://reason.com/2022/07/07/fda-finally-admits-it-caused-the-baby-formula-shortage/|title=FDA Finally Admits It Caused the Baby Formula Shortage|date=July 7, 2022}}</ref> Additionally, critics note that if a formula maker passes EU regulations, this should be good enough for the FDA to allow importation of that formula. Critics of the FDA's regulatory policy note that the regulatory scheme surrounding European formulas is not borne from a science-based desire to protect children, but rather an influence that the US dairy industry has on the agency.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usdec.org/Documents/TPA-105-003_Public%20Comments_NMPF%20USDEC%20ITC%20USMCA%20Submission.12.20.18.pdf|title=Submission by the U.S. Dairy Export Council and the National Milk Producers FederationRegarding United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement: Likely Impact on the U.S. Economy andon Specific Industry Sectors (Investigation No. TPA-105-003)|date=December 20, 2018|access-date=October 13, 2022|archive-date=April 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419140913/https://www.usdec.org/Documents/TPA-105-003_Public%20Comments_NMPF%20USDEC%20ITC%20USMCA%20Submission.12.20.18.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="reason.com">{{cite web|url=https://reason.com/2022/07/25/my-baby-needed-special-formula-from-europe-u-s-trade-policy-made-it-almost-unobtainable/|title=My Baby Needed Special Formula From Europe. U.S. Trade Policy Made It Almost Unobtainable.|date=July 25, 2022}}</ref> Critics also note that if there were an issue with European formulas, the issue would be widespread among the European babies that regularly consume the formula.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/us-parents-european-baby-formula/|title=Why US Parents Are Choosing European Baby Formula|website=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 12, 2021}}</ref><ref name="reason.com"/> The FORMULA Act is set to expire at the end of 2022, which will subsequently reinstate tariffs on foreign made formula.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/8351|title=H.R.8351 - Formula Act|date=July 13, 2022}}</ref> Experts worry that this will result in a repeat formula shortage for 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://reason.com/2022/12/13/the-government-hasnt-learned-a-thing-from-the-baby-formula-shortage/|title=The Government Hasn't Learned a Thing From the Baby Formula Shortage|date=December 13, 2022}}</ref> The CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, a lobbying organization for dairy producers, wrote in a letter to Congress and the Biden administration to allow for the reinstatement of tariffs on foreign baby formula to commence.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nmpf.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/NMPF-Letter-to-Congress-on-Restoration-of-US-Formula-Tariffs_Nov-17-2022.pdf|title=National Milk Producers Federation Letter to Congress|date=November 17, 2022}}</ref>
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