(Washington) “We let you down”: a senior Abbott official will apologize on Wednesday to parents who have faced months of baby milk shortages worsened by the closure of a factory of the American group.
Posted at 1:01 p.m.
“We are deeply sorry and we are committed to ensuring that a shortage like this never happens again,” said Christopher Calamari, chief executive of Abbott Nutrition in testimony prepared for his hearing before a court. congressional committee.
“It will take time” to regain the families’ trust, he continued, stressing that the group was doing everything it could to resolve this crisis.
The United States has been experiencing a months-long shortage of baby milk, caused by supply and labor issues related to COVID-19, then exacerbated by the closure in February of a factory in the manufacturer Abbott in Michigan, after a product recall suspected of causing the deaths of two infants.
“We continue to believe there is no conclusive evidence to link our products” to childhood illnesses and deaths attributed to Cronobacter sakazakii bacteria, which was found in an area of Abbott’s Sturgis plant.
He insisted that the samples positive for this bacteria “did not come from areas in direct contact” with the baby milk boxes.
The Sturgis plant is one of the largest infant formula plants in the United States, including specialty milks used for children with certain metabolic or allergic conditions.
The American drug agency (FDA) indicated for its part that it had made a series of 24 visits to Sturgis, the last of which was on March 18.
Its manager Robert Califf admitted that its services had been slow to start.
But he blamed problems on COVID-19. The FDA was unable to begin its investigation until late January due to employees testing positive for COVID-19.
The crisis is such that President Joe Biden announced last week the establishment of an airlift and the use of a law dating from the Cold War to import milk from abroad.