DeLauro Calls for Investigation into FDA Response to Infant Formula Concerns

U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) has written a letter to the Office of the Inspector General seeking “assistance in investigating whether the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took prompt, appropriate, and effective action leading up to the recent recall involving powdered infant formula produced by Abbott Nutrition’s Sturgis, Michigan plant.” DeLauro indicates she is “concerned the agency acted too slowly in pulling potentially dangerous infant formula off store shelves, which may have resulted in additional illnesses and death.”

The letter notes that FDA alerted the public to a potential link between formula produced at the Sturgis location and Cronobacter sakazakii four months after the agency learned of the possible link. “The delay between the September inspection and the recall raises serious questions about the FDA’s ability to adequately regulate the infant formula industry,” the letter asserts. “It seems evident that the FDA could have acted sooner to prevent additional illnesses and deaths after the initial inspection.”