On Sunday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a state of emergency due to a statewide scarcity of infant formula, authorizing the city to take action against price gouging of a basic family product.
The ruling, according to Adams' office, will give the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection power. New York City regulations prohibit price gouging for infant formula.
Mayor Eric Adams Urges To Control Baby Formula Prices
The scarcity has created "unimaginable agony and worry" for families in New York City, according to the mayor. Anyone in New York City who is overcharged for infant formula can register a complaint.
The countrywide infant formula shortage has worsened recently due to Abbott Nutrition's voluntary recall of specified powdered formulas produced at its Sturgis facility. Four newborns who drank items manufactured from the plant were ill with a bacterial illness, and two of them died, according to a Michigan clinic.
Abbott Nutrition announced in a statement on May 11 that goods from its Sturgis, South Dakota facility might take months to arrive. Michigan plant will reach store racks after a deliberate review constrained the company to terminate operations at the office. The plant initially closed in February. Abbott has said none of the newborn child deaths have been connected to any item made at the Sturgis plant, according to Fox News.
Per NY Post, under 5-42 of Title 6 of the Rules of the City of New York, Emergency Executive Order 98 empowers the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to limit price increases for specific home items. Former Mayor Bill Blasio adopted the ordinance on March 15, 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, to raise the price of hand sanitizer and masks.
A price increase of 10% or more above the product's regular price is considered excessive. Across the country, store shelves have remained bare. - The situation was prompted by Abbott Nutrition's February recall of name-brand formulas created in Michigan and the subsequent shutdown of its production facilities.
According to Datasembly, a business that analyses retail pricing and sales, 43 percent of the most popular infant formulae were unavailable during the first week of May, and 43 percent of baby formula was out of stock at shops.
President Biden decided to use the Defense Production Act on Wednesday to assure that US infant formula manufacturers had access to the materials they required, and he initiated a new US government airlift of formula from abroad. On Sunday, the first overseas shipment of baby formula arrived in Indiana.
Military Planes With Baby Formula Arrive in the US
Meanwhile, enough specialized infant formula for more than 500,000 baby bottles landed in Indianapolis on Sunday, the first of many planes delivering infant formula from Europe anticipated this weekend to alleviate the country's growing shortage.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre informed reporters onboard Air Force One as President Biden flew from South Korea to Japan that the formula, weighing 78,000 pounds, or 39 tons, was being delivered by military plane.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was on-site in Indianapolis to meet the first delivery. The Biden administration has dubbed the effort "Operation Fly Formula," as it has struggled to address a nationwide shortage of formula, particularly hypoallergenic varieties. The crisis follows the February closure of the nation's largest domestic manufacturing plant in Michigan due to safety concerns.
According to the White House, 132 pallets of Nestlé Health Science Alfamino Infant and Alfamino Junior formula were scheduled to depart Ramstein Air Base in Germany for the United States. In the coming days, another 114 pallets of Gerber Good Start Extensive HA formula were planned to arrive. Approximately 1.5 million 8-ounce bottles of the three hypoallergenic formulas for children with cow's milk protein allergies are slated to arrive this week. President Biden authorized the flights, as per CBS News.
Related Article : 'Safe Sleep for Babies' Act: President Joe Biden Passes Law That Bans Infant Sleep Products Blamed for 200 Deaths
