Abbott Laboratories Chief Executive Robert Ford apologized Saturday for his company's role in the nationwide shortage of baby formula and promised production will ramp up again in June.
"We're sorry to every family we've let down," Mr. Ford wrote in a Washington Post op-ed.
Mr. Ford explained what led to his company's voluntary recall of baby formula and detailed the company's plan to avoid a similar shortage in the future.
"We are making significant investments to ensure this never happens again," he wrote.
In February, Abbott Laboratories voluntarily recalled some of its Similac, Alimentum and EleCare formulas manufactured in its Sturgis, Mich., plant after Food and Drug Administration officials found a potentially deadly bacteria there.
That decision exacerbated an existing baby formula shortage created by supply-chain issues during the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr. Ford acknowledged.
"We take great pride in manufacturing nutrition and formula to feed America's infants, including our most vulnerable," Mr. Ford said.
"But the past few months have distressed us as they have you, and so I want to say: We're sorry to every family we've let down since our voluntary recall exacerbated our nation's baby formula shortage," he said.
Four infants who drank tainted baby formula were hospitalized and two of them died, however the FDA said the bacteria didn't match the strains found at the Abbott plant.
Nonetheless, Mr. Ford wrote, issuing a voluntary recall was the right thing to do.
"The FDA's investigation did discover a bacteria in our plant that we will not tolerate. I have high expectations of this company, and we fell short of them," he wrote. "We will not take risks when it comes to the health of children."
The shortage has led to empty shelves at some stores, product restrictions and panic among parents and caregivers searching for formula to feed their babies.
President Biden on Wednesday invoked the Defense Production Act to increase production of baby formula and launched a program -- called Operation Fly Formula -- that would bring supplies by cargo plane that meets U.S. standards from overseas.
On Sunday, Mr. Biden tweeted photos of the aircraft being loaded with supplies.
"Our team is working around the clock to get safe formula to everyone who needs it," Mr. Biden wrote on Twitter, moments before the first formula shipment arrived in Indiana Sunday.
A top White House official on Sunday defended the administration's approach to the shortage and blamed longer-term trends for the crisis.
"How did we end up in a market where we have three companies that control 90% of the market?" the director of the White House National Economic Council, Brian Deese, said on CNN's "State of the Union," adding that officials were weighing steps to open up that market to more competition.
"We're going to have to work on that," Mr. Deese said.
Mr. Deese also said that the first shipment of formula brought to Indiana from Germany accounted for around 15% of the national need, and that he expected additional such flights early this week.
"We're going to keep ramping that up until we get there," he said.
Abbott's Mr. Ford said the company plans to restart its Sturgis facility in early June after entering into a consent decree with the FDA. It will take six to eight weeks from when production begins to get products on the shelves.
"When we are operating our Michigan facility at full capacity, we will more than double our current production of powdered infant formula for the United States," he wrote. "By the end of June, we will be supplying more formula to Americans than we were in January before the recall."
Meanwhile, he said, the company is putting baby formula production ahead of all its other adult products at its Ohio plant and has flown in supplies from its facility in Ireland.
Specialized baby formula known as EleCare, for infants or children who can't digest other formulas and milks, is the priority, Mr. Ford said.
"Given their unique needs, children who lose access to it can require medical supervision until the formula is returned to the shelves," he wrote.
Consumers can feel safe buying Abbott Laboratories products currently in stores, Mr. Ford said.
"What is available has passed rigorous inspections and is ready for your babies," he said.
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