© Reuters. Joe Biden on Wednesday hoped that new infant formula producers would arrive on the market to end the shortage affecting the United States. /Photo taken June 1, 2022/REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Joe Biden on Wednesday called for new producers of infant formula to come to market to end the shortage affecting the United States.
The American president brought together all the formula milk producers at the White House to take stock of the measures taken to resolve the crisis resulting in particular from the recall of batches produced by Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:) in February and supply chain strains related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“No one could imagine the consequences of closing a single factory,” said Joe Biden, saying he became aware of the problem in early April and has since made every effort to remedy it.
In particular, Washington has eased the restrictions imposed on imports of infant formula.
In 2020, less than half of babies born in the United States were exclusively breastfed for the first three months of life, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(Report Eric Beech and Costas Pitas, French version Tangi Salaün)
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