US firm Abbott says it is restarting production at a baby formula plant after its shutdown contributed to a national shortage of the baby food.

The plant in Michigan - one of America's largest - was closed in February because of contamination.

Coupled with global supply chain issues, the factory's closure led to acute shortages.

Parents were left scrambling for supplies, seeking formula from food banks, friends and doctor's offices.

Baby formula manufacturer Abbott Laboratories restarted production Saturday at its Sturgis, Michigan plant that has been closed since February.

Abbott said it will first produce EleCare and other specialty and metabolic formulas which will be available to consumers as early as June 20. The company added that it will restart production of Similac and other formulas as soon as it can.

The company reached an agreement with the Food and Drug Administration after a voluntary recall that has contributed to a baby formula shortage nationwide.

The mothers Tess Frear works with were already struggling. Most of them are single parents, typically from economically disadvantaged families. Sometimes they're escaping domestic violence; sometimes they're as young as 15.

For these new mothers, it was hard enough just trying to get basics such as diapers or clothing. Then came the baby formula shortage.

"There's definitely desperation," said Frear, executive director of the baby supply bank Helping Mamas in Knoxville, Tenn. "These mamas are just scared, you know. What are they going to do?"

The Biden administration announced Wednesday it is acquiring more than 4 million 8-ounce bottles and 380,000 pounds of infant formula from Australia to be delivered to the United States by next week to address the ongoing baby formula shortage gripping the nation.

The move is part of President Biden’s "Operation Fly Formula," which was launched last month to speed up the import of infant formula and to begin sending more formula to stores across the U.S.

President Biden admitted on Wednesday that he did not expect the baby formula shortage to become as serious as it is.

The president appeared surprised that the closure of one plant—Abbott Nutrition’s facility in Sturgis, Michigan—could have as big of an impact on the supply nationwide as it has.

“I don’t think anyone anticipated the impact of the shutdown of one facility,” he told reporters. 

The president met with baby formula manufacturers to discuss the shortage, which he said will likely last “a couple more months.”

President Joe Biden is set to meet with infant formula manufacturers as his administration works to ease nationwide shortages by importing foreign supplies and using the Defense Production Act to speed domestic production.

A new poll shows the vast majority of American adults are worried about the baby formula shortage — and Food and Drug Administration officials say the crisis is unlikely to be resolved before July.

“My expectation is that within two months we should be beyond normal, and with a plethora,” Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf told a Senate health committee this week. “It’s going to be gradual improvement up to probably somewhere around two months until the shelves are replete again.”  

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf said the severe nationwide shortage of baby formula is expected to be eased within two months.

Testifying before a Senate hearing, Califf said that while he cannot give exact dates, his expectation is “that within two months we should be beyond normal and with a plethora” of formula supply.

Is it true that the Biden admin is sending pallets & pallets of baby formula to the immigrants at the border but leaving US grocery store shelves bare?

A nationwide shortage of baby formula has been driven by the shutdown of a major plant run by Abbott Nutrition, a recall of Abbott’s formula and pandemic-related supply-chain issues. But the issue became politicized when lawmakers and pundits suggested that the shortage was due to the president’s policies.

The first flight from Operation Fly Formula landed in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Sunday with enough specialty infant formula to fill more than half a million baby bottles.

The flight was greeted by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack upon arrival.

All formula pallets have been fully loaded onto FedEx trucks, but first comply with stringent Food and Drug Administration regulatory requirements. After the FDA clears the product, it will become available publicly for parents, caregivers and health care professionals.