Bubs Australia to ship at least 1.25 mln baby formula cans to United States

Empty shelves show a shortage of baby formula at a CVS store in San Antonio, Texas, U.S., May 10, 2022. REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee Beal/File Photo

May 27 (Reuters) – Bubs Australia Ltd (BUB.AX) plans to ship at least 1.25 million boxes of its infant formula to the United States to help ease a nationwide shortage, the Food and Drug said on Friday. Administration (FDA) of the United States.

Some are currently in storage for transport and more will be produced by the Australian company in the coming weeks and months, according to the FDA.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Health and Human Services has cleared global agricultural commodities trader Cargill Inc. [RIC:RIC:CARG.UL] supply the raw materials needed to maximize the production of infant formula by invoking the Defense Production Act.

Cargill supplies dozens of products to infant formula makers and the move will allow manufacturers to produce at full capacity to meet “urgent market shortages,” the department said in a statement.

The Biden administration had previously decided to respond urgently to the national shortage by importing emergency supplies from Europe, the first of which arrived earlier this week.

Bubs’ supply is another FDA-approved import as part of its regulatory flexibility that began earlier this month to ease one of the largest formula shortages in recent history. Read more

The shortage is partly because Abbott Laboratories’ (ABT.N) manufacturing plant in Michigan recalled some products, including Similac, in February. Read more

Abbott said on Tuesday it plans to restart production at the plant on June 4, adding that it will prioritize manufacturing EleCare and supplying it on or around June 20. read more

Reporting by Leroy Leo and Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta

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