Since the spring of 2022, there has been a shortage of infant formula on the shelves of American grocery stores. In May of this year, stores across the country were reported to have imposed limits on the number of products per purchase and household to prevent total sell-outs, and the situation is still fragile - several months after the crisis began. During the year, scores of parents in the United States have been subjected to so-called scams where they were forced to buy products at outrageous prices by those who took advantage of the situation for their own gain. Perhaps even worse, the shortage in some places has led parents to try to mix their own formula, which experts have warned about the risks.
The reasons behind the sudden low availability of infant formula were twofold. First, the industry was in a fragile state at the beginning of the year, having suffered from supply chain disruptions and delays throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Then, when one of the largest American manufacturers was forced to shut down its production and recall products after bacteria was discovered in one of its production facilities, the crisis was a fact.
In response to the serious situation, President Joe Biden took two important steps in June: First, he invoked a federal law from the 1950s; the Defense Production Act, to ensure that domestic production of formula would be given priority in factories, and second, he gave the go-ahead for mass imports of formula to overcome the crisis in the short term. By invoking the Defense Production Act, Biden could require companies to prioritize production of specific ingredients to supply formula producers - ahead of other companies that had ordered the same ingredients.
