When Catherine Labrecque-Baker went to buy hypoallergenic infant formula in mid-April for her six-month-old baby, her Quebec City pharmacist told her there was none left.
Mme So Labrecque-Baker went to another pharmacy in town and bought five times the amount she normally takes. Then she started stressing as she fed her baby and watched her stocks slowly dwindle.
Her son suffers from cow’s milk protein intolerance and depends on Alimentum, a product from US infant formula maker Abbott, which voluntarily recalled its products in February after four illnesses were reported in babies who consumed it. powdered infant formula prepared at its Michigan plant.
“What am I supposed to do?” asked M.me Labrecque-Baker in an interview on Monday. I cried all night, wondering what I would do when I ran out of formula. »
Disruptions at Abbott, the largest formula maker in the United States, are causing supply issues for some hypoallergenic products across Canada, according to Retail Council of Canada spokeswoman Michelle Wasylyshen.
But in Quebec, parents are noticing shortages of other formulas on pharmacy shelves across the province — as a result of panic buying, Ms.me Wasylyshen.
“There’s a ripple effect,” she explained in an interview Monday, referring to parents like Ms.me Labrecque-Baker who are buying more formula than usual because they fear it is out of stock.
“We don’t want to see a return to panic buying — that approach isn’t helping anyone,” Ms.me Wasylyshen. Some of our retailers have put limits in place on what customers can buy, just to make sure there’s enough for everyone. »
Manufacturer under pressure
Abbott’s decision to close its Michigan plant has exacerbated ongoing supply chain disruptions among formula makers, leaving fewer options on store shelves across much of the United States.
The company is among a handful of manufacturers that produce the vast majority of infant formula sold in the United States. Abbott’s product recall — involving the Similac, Alimentum and EleCare brands — therefore wiped out a large segment of the market for babies allergic or intolerant to cow’s milk protein.
On Monday, Abbott announced it had reached an agreement with U.S. health officials to restart production at its Michigan plant, a key step toward easing a nationwide shortage.
Domino effect
Quebec does not face the same kind of shortage as the United States, but Mme Wasylyshen pointed out that images of empty pharmacy shelves in the province have started circulating online, causing anxiety.
The Ministry of Health and Social Services said Monday that it was working with the Quebec Association of Proprietary Pharmacists (AQPP) to limit the impact of the shortage as much as possible.
“We are looking as far as Europe to counter this lack of supply,” said ministry spokeswoman Marjorie Larouche, adding that shortages are being observed across Canada.
Marilie Beaulieu-Gravel of the AQPP said that after the Alimentum formula disappeared from the shelves, parents rushed to buy Nutragimen, another hypoallergenic formula, made by Mead Johnson & Company.
“There is no production problem with this product, but rather a domino effect, explained Mr.me Beaulieu-Gravel in an interview on Monday. The demand for the products rises sharply and unexpectedly in the market. »
While Nutragimen products should be back on shelves by mid-June, Mme Beaulieu-Gravel said his association does not expect the supply of Alimentum milk to resume before the end of the summer.
Meanwhile, some parents, including Ms.me Labrecque-Baker, find themselves looking for formula milk everywhere, even online.
“I looked on Facebook Marketplace, on Kijiji… Friends were looking for or giving me what they could, recounted Mme Labrecque-Baker. This week I spent $200 because I can’t wait and risk. The more I can store, the more I can feed my child. »