The American competition regulator FTC has launched a new investigation into baby food producer Abbott. The investigation focuses on Abbott’s role in a major shortage of baby milk powder in the United States last year.
In addition, FTC looks at whether price agreements have been made with other manufacturers to make the competition more difficult.
The infant formula market in the US has been in the hands of four companies for decades: Abbott Nutrition, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Nestlé and Perrigo. Abbott’s factory produces 20 percent of all US baby food, including Similac, one of the country’s most popular brands.
Some 70 million Similac products were recalled last year after two babies died from possibly contaminated food. This exacerbated the existing shortage that had arisen due to supply problems due to the corona crisis. Although competitors increased production and the US government eased import regulations, many supermarket shelves remained empty.
Last year, the FTC launched an investigation into the US infant formula market. Several politicians had urged this because they believed that market concentration could only exacerbate the shortage of baby food. The results of that study are expected this spring.