FDA Commissioner Robert Califf no relation inquiry
Market concentration
Ninety percent of the formula in United States is made by just four companies, including Abbott Nutrition. Abbott manufactures 43% of US infant formula. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg alleged that the industry's "enormous market concentration" may have exacerbated the problem. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) also urged the FTC to study whether market consolidation in the infant formula industry caused the shortage. According to Claire Kelloway of the Open Markets Institute, manufacturers operate a relatively small number of formula factories to increase efficiency and to reduce cost. But this creates lots of risk if a plant is closed, as happened with the Sturgis plant. FDA Commissioner Robert Califf acknowledged that the market concentration in the industry deserves more scrutiny. David Davis, a professor of economics at the South Dakota State University, has alleged that WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) contracts help create monopolies that make it hard for other brands to break into the market. Davis stated that without WIC contracts, no player will be able to enter the industry. Davis stated that this kind of market concentration gives little flexibility if things go wrong, as one single plant will have a big impact on the industry.Investigations
Congressional investigation
US Congressional Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) contacted the four leading formula manufacturers in the US, which together control 90% of the market, to inquire into the causes of and responses to the shortage, and to urge those companies to do whatever they can to increase their production. On May 12, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) announced that a hearing with the FDA would be held on May 25, to "try to determine what they can do better."On May 17, House majority leader Nancy Pelosi warned that the shortage crisis could result in indictments, though she did not specify who might be indicted, and for what.
no relation