Baby formula manufacturer Abbott Laboratories will pay $469,890 to the state of Michigan as part of a $384 million federal settlement deal tied to the 2022 recall of powered infant formula that may have been linked to the deaths of two children and drove a national infant formula shortage.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors reported unsanitary conditions at Abbott's manufacturing facility in Sturgis, Michigan, and a history of contamination with Cronobacter sakazakii bacteria, leading Abbott to issue a voluntary recallof its Similac, Alimentum and EleCare powdered formula.
Cronobacter bacteria can cause life-threatening blood stream and central nervous system infections, such as sepsis and meningitis, according to the FDA. In addition
to the two deaths, other children also were hospitalized with Cronobacter infections after consuming Abbott's powdered formula, the agency reported.
Some of the recalled baby formula was purchased with money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
The U. S. Department of Justice and the attorneys general of the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon and Tennessee sued in federal court in Grand Rapids alleging False Claims Act violations on the part of Abbott.
The attorneys for the state and federal governments alleged the Illinois-based company knowingly manufactured formula purchased with taxpayer dollars "in an environment that put the products at unacceptable risk of microorganism contamination and significantly impacted the products’ reliability, quality, and safety," said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in a statement issued Sept. 14.
“There should be no question for parents of whether the formula they give to their babies is safe,” Nessel said. “This settlement makes clear that corporations cannot cut corners on critical health and safety measures. My office remains committed to protecting the most vulnerable among us and ensuring manufacturers who operate in our state comply with regulations that safeguard Michigan residents.”
The claims were tied to infant formula made between Jan. 1, 2018, and Dec. 31, 2022, at the company's Sturgis, Michigan, and Casa Grande, Arizona, facilities.
In a statement on its website, Abbott alleges investigators did not find a link between its infant formula and the illnesses that prompted the 2022 recall.
It said: "The CDC later concluded there was no definitive link between the Sturgis facility and the cases under investigation. A CDC scientist further noted that one case was likely associated with contamination that occurred in the home after the product was opened. Available genetic sequencing data showed that strains identified at the Sturgis facility did not match the strains found in affected infants.
"No unopened, distributed Abbott infant formula has ever tested positive for Cronobacter sakazakii."
Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Subscribe to the Detroit Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan to get share of $384M settlement tied to baby formula recall
