Baby formula shortage won’t reverse until at least July

The Abbott Nutrition plant in Michigan, which suffered a massive recall and was forced to shut down, is expected to be up and running by June 4. However, it will be another several weeks before the product starts hitting store shelves.

According to Blaze, baby formula appears to have reached, or is close to peak scarcity in the US.

"In recent weeks, the out-of-stock rate for baby formula rose to 70 percent nationwide according to current data gathered by the retail data firm Datasembly," the Blaze reporters.

"This marks a drastic increase in scarcity from the previous weeks when the national out-of-stock rate for baby formula stood at 45 percent."

While the FDA was investigating the Abbott plant as early as fall 2021, it's unclear why they waited for several months to close the plant.

The closure was deemed necessary because the FDA found problems in the plant such as "standing water, a leaky roof, and damaged equipment."