Top baby formula manufacturer Abbott has reached an agreement with federal regulators on a plan to restart production at its shuttered Michigan plant. The Sturgis Abbott plant, which is the nation’s largest baby formula manufacturing hub, has been closed since February over a contamination issue. According to an Abbott spokesman, the plant will need six-eight weeks in order to resume production.
Abbott did not immediately detail the terms of the agreement with the Food and Drug Administration.
In February, the FDA launched an investigation of Abbott’s Sturgis, Michigan plant after receiving reports of Cronobacter sakazakii and Salmonella Newport infections among infants. In total, four infant illnesses were reported and later linked back to consumption of formula from the plant. Two of the affected infants later died…
After production resumes, Abbott said it will take between six-to-eight weeks before newly produced formulas begin to arrive on store shelves. Read more…