WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
U.S. Senator Gary Peters said he has introduced a bipartisan bill to strengthen the Food and Drug Administration’s oversight of infant formula.
Peters said countless families in Michigan and across the country found themselves in a predicament in 2022, when they were faced with a nationwide infant-formula shortage. The shortage was triggered after Abbott Labs in Sturgis inadvertently shipped formula contaminated with potentially deadly bacteria.
Peters said the contamination wasn’t discovered until the product was already in stores, which triggered a recall. Due to current regulations, the FDA cannot inspect infant formula until after it leaves the factory floor.
Peters said the bill he has introduced corrects that policy. The three-pronged proposal would require manufacturers to strengthen testing before their product is released to stores, share any positive contaminant results with the FDA and then work with the FDA to properly dispose of contaminated products.
