Producer

Abbott Nutrition (Abbott Laboratories)

Abbott Nutrition (Abbott Park, Illinois; division of Abbott Laboratories NYSE: ABT; FY2023 Abbott total revenue ~$20B; Nutrition segment ~$8B) is the largest US infant formula manufacturer by market share, producing Similac (the #1 US infant formula brand), Similac Pro-Advance, Similac for Supplementation, Similac Alimentum (hypoallergenic — elemental formula for cow's milk protein allergy), Pediasure (pediatric nutritional supplement), and Ensure (adult nutritional supplement). Abbott's Sturgis, Michigan facility — the primary US Similac manufacturing plant — became the center of the 2022 US infant formula shortage crisis. In February 2022, Abbott voluntarily recalled Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare powdered infant formulas produced at Sturgis after FDA inspections found Cronobacter sakazakii contamination linked to four infant hospitalizations and two deaths. Abbott shut the Sturgis plant (which produced approximately 40% of all US powdered infant formula) for approximately 4.5 months (February to late June 2022). The simultaneous shutdown of the dominant US plant for the dominant US brand — in a market where import certification barriers prevent rapid substitution with foreign formula — produced a national infant formula shortage. US stores implemented purchase limits; WIC program (which covers approximately 50% of US infant formula purchases) faced allocation crises. The shortage lasted approximately 6-8 months before supply normalized. Abbott's Sturgis facility resumed production in June 2022 under a consent decree with FDA.