Crying over formula in U.S.

Health Canada allows more imported products

Parents of toddlers are concerned these days about baby formula shortages due to a combination of factors. A major recall in the United States affecting the top manufacturer of baby formula, coupled with supply chain challenges, has made things difficult. In the U.S., some parents are driving hours just to get the right product for their baby. In more than six states, over 50 per cent of retail stores are out of stock. Breast milk banks are getting organized.

If someone is looking for a product for their child, they will find it, but it may not be the one their baby is accustomed to.

The big problem is the recall that occurred Feb. 17. Abbott, the largest baby formula manufacturer in the U.S., voluntarily recalled its Sturgis, Michigan-manufactured products and closed the facility following reports that four infants had fallen ill from bacterial infections. Two toddlers allegedly died after having consumed formula produced in the plant.

A whistle-blower report was submitted last year to the Food and Drug Administration about the plant. Abbott denies everything, based on evidence the company collected itself. Still, the plant could be shut down for weeks.

When only three companies manufacture about 98 per cent of what is consumed in a country, things will escalate when a recall occurs. The baby formula market is not that profitable since birth rates have been dropping in the U.S. When a market is shrinking, getting new players is challenging.

It’s not the first time baby formula has made international headlines. In 2008, China had its own baby formula scandal when thousands of toddlers were hospitalized, and some died. A top manufacturer had opted to add melamine to its formula. For months, everything was hidden from the public since Beijing did not want any bad publicity as it was hosting the Olympics that year. This became one of the most significant food safety scandals in history.

In Canada, the situation might be a little different. First, demand for baby formula in the United States is typically higher. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the U.S. about 56 per cent of infants are breastfed up to the age of six months. In Canada, that rate is above 80 per cent, according to the International Journal for Equity in Health. Reliance on baby formula in the United Sates is more acute.

Also, Health Canada has temporarily allowed other infant formula brands from the U.S., the U.K., Ireland and Germany to be imported into Canada. This measure will help put many parents at ease. Still, most of the baby formula consumed in Canada is imported, so any hiccups outside Canada can affect supplies at any time.

Canada is home to a large baby formula plant. In Kingston, Ont., Canada Royal Milk, owned by China’s Feihe International, built a plant in 2017. However, all its products are shipped back to China.

The plant uses Canadian cow and goat milk. For any experts who understand how the Canadian dairy sector works, this is troubling.

It’s not only that cow milk is partially subsidized by Canadian taxpayers, but dairy farmers also have expensive government-sanctioned quotas intended to serve Canadians only. Supply management is about feeding ourselves and nobody else and is considered one of the most protectionist policies we have in agriculture.

But for baby formula, we produce for China, almost exclusively. Something is not right.

Selling to China is not the problem. After all, China’s melamine scare made Canadian dairy products attractive. It’s hard to blame an industry for capitalizing on an opportunity.

But this is Canadian dairy. To get Canadians to buy into the supply management regime and to produce what we need, dairy farmers have long argued we can’t ship milk abroad and grow the Asian market. Since farmers have no incentive to grow any markets at all, we have allowed a Chinese-owned company to invest in Canada to ship our own food back to China.

Subsidizing and protecting milk production to serve other markets is not what supply management was designed to do when it was implemented more than 50 years ago. The milk sold to Canada Royal Milk should not only be off quota, the facility should also be Canadian owned and operated so some of the focus would be on the Canadian market.

For consumers, having access to Canadian-made baby formula would be reassuring, but dairy farmers just don’t think about the market that way. Money is money, and who is being fed is totally secondary. This is Canada’s baby formula problem.