This baby formula situation is still a big mess and now we’re running out of Robitussin and Tylenol for Kids? We’ve got to ration and lock those ubiquitous bottles of sugary winter cold/flu kiddie comfort up, too?

“Spot shortages.”

Dude there is still a shortage of baby formula 🤦 pic.twitter.com/0dz5UHL099

— khafi martinaz (@usera49) December 19, 2022

The Biden administration and every hack drawing a paycheck up there are so pathetically worthless. The formula situation is not resolved, contrary to what “market researchers” and chirpy, clueless Biden dupes say.

…The availability of powdered baby formula in U.S. stores has improved in recent months. Out-of-stock levels fell to 14% in October from 30% in July, according to the most recent data from market-research company IRI.

Parents in parts of the country are still struggling to find the formulations they need…

…while in a good portion of it, the formula is still treated as if it were a regulated substance – it’s kept under lock and key, and only released in limited quantities. Rationing is the word that springs to mind, with a healthy dose of theft prevention.

The need to lock up baby formula says more about our societal safety net than anything about crime. pic.twitter.com/Fl2E3kZ11S

— Jake Williams (@MalwareJake) December 24, 2022

It has to be utterly disheartening to families – especially those dependent on specialty formulations – to hear that the situation is going to continue into Spring 2023 at the very least, if not longer.

…A new report by Reckitt Benckiser, the maker of Enfamil, indicates shortages are expected to persist until at least the spring of 2023.

Amber Bergeron, a Louisiana mother of four, confirmed to “Fox & Friends First” on Thursday that feeding her eight-month-old twins has been continuously difficult for her.

“I’m beyond struggling,” she said.

Bergeron shared how she was down to only half a can of her formula of choice last week and wasn’t able to find more in stock “anywhere.”

“I went to multiple stores, I contacted family, I contacted friends out of town,” she said.

The Enfamil manufacturer has picked up a lot of the business Abbott Laboratories lost when its Similac factory was closed after the recall which started this whole snowball of shortages, along with Gerber and others helping to fill holes. But there still is not enough product available, nor as many formulations as prior to the supply melt-down.

…Some parents are still reporting empty shelves. Grocer Kroger Co. said on Dec. 1 that supply-chain problems remain. And families are finding fewer brands, sizes and formats of formula in stores. Manufacturers such as U.K.-based Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, which produces formula in the U.S. and has been importing more supplies from overseas factories, said it has adjusted production to make more of a narrower product range. Supermarkets sold an average of 43% fewer formula products per store weekly as of Nov. 20, compared with the same period in the previous year, IRI data showed.

What’s the government’s answer to the shortage, with (oddly enough) the encouragement of the U.S. dairy industry?

Reimpose the up-to-17.5 % tariffs on formula importation that had been waived to allow massive amounts of formula to be rapidly brought in during the height of the shortage.

…Congress waived tariffs, which can be as high as 17.5%, to help families struggling to find formula after supply-chain problems and the closure of a crucial factory crimped supplies. A White House spokesman said the tariff waivers doubled the number of manufacturers selling baby formula in the U.S. Congress made the tariff waivers temporary as part of a deal to pass the measures quickly, said people familiar with the matter.

How helpful is that going to be to anybody? It’s not, other than the dairy industry, understandably protecting its own under-siege/in-crisis operations. Some companies have already said the return of tariffs had factored into their import supply orders and they would not be raising prices to cover the almost 20% increase. But industry watchdogs said it can only make the product more expensive and…?

HARDER TO FIND.

…“Neither is in the interest of the U.S. consumer,” he [Erik Peterson] said.

Ya think?

Besides the tariffs, two other potential thumpings to the supply are coming down the pike.

…Special exemptions for importing baby formula are also set to expire on Jan. 6 unless companies pledge to work to meet full Food and Drug Administration requirements. If they do, they can stay in the U.S. market through 2025 while they work to comply with FDA rules. The FDA said some companies have set plans to work toward meeting U.S. standards. The agency didn’t name them or give an exact count.

Another flexible formula rule could go away in February. The Agriculture Department said in a recent letter that it might stop allowing families to use the Women, Infants and Children supplemental nutrition program, which provides formula at no cost, to buy brands that haven’t struck a contract with each state.

The WIC program restriction is especially egregious. What if they strike a contract with a supplier who then cannot supply the stores in the state with enough product reliably? Babies eat pretty regularly. They can’t wait a couple of extra days for a shipment that was back-ordered to Kroger or whatever. Until the shelves are stocked on a regular basis and the jitters have calmed down for a significant period, WIC shouldn’t be throwing anyone into a panic. Or encouraging more hoarding.

Until these incompetent dolts get a handle on this situation, they certainly don’t need to make it any worse than they already have with their meddling and then with their benign neglect.