US President Biden enacts a 1950 war law to increase the production of baby food powder to address the severe shortage of baby food in the US. He is also accelerating the import of baby food from abroad as political pressure mounts on him over the baby food shortage.
The shortage arose after it was revealed in February that two babies had died from a bacterial infection and two others had become very ill. According to the FDA, this may have been the result of a production error at a baby food factory in the state of Michigan. Production has been halted there and stocks have been recalled.
“I know parents across the country are concerned about being able to find enough baby food to feed their babies,” Biden said in a video message. “As a parent and grandparent, I know exactly how stressful that can be. I’ve instructed my team to do everything in their power to ensure that there is enough baby food and that it gets to the families who need it most quickly. to have.”
Korean War and Corona Crisis
Biden is therefore invoking the so-called Defense Production Act to deal with the shortage. That is a law that was enacted in 1950, during the Korean War. With that legislation, a president can demand that manufacturers – in this case, baby food manufacturers – be given priority in deliveries of ingredients or parts.
This law was also recently used during the corona crisis. At that time, the production of, for example, respiratory equipment and protective equipment such as mouth caps was quickly increased in this way.
Two days ago it was announced that the FDA wants to make it easier for foreign manufacturers to export baby food to the United States. Dutch producers would like to do that, but that was very complicated due to the strict rules. An emergency bill will also release $28 million for the FDA, but it is still unclear whether the Senate will support it.
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