We know that you and your family rely on our infant formula to feed your baby, and that the industry-wide infant formula shortage in Canada has worsened since our voluntary recall. As parents and caregivers ourselves, we see, hear, and feel the stress this shortage has caused. We will do whatever it takes to relieve it.

We want to be transparent about the work we're doing to get the high-quality nutrition you need back on shelves and communicate the status of our Sturgis, Michigan, facility. We understand the situation is urgent and getting the facility up and running will help alleviate the industry-wide shortage.

An update on our Michigan facility:

• Abbott has entered into a consent decree with the FDA related to the Michigan facility. The consent decree is an agreement on the steps necessary to resume production and maintain the facility. This is a major step towards re-opening the facility.

• Once the FDA confirms the initial requirements for start-up have been met, we'll be able to restart the facility within two weeks. We will begin production of specialized formulas such as Alimentum^® and metabolic formulas first and then begin production of Similac^® and other formulas. It will likely take six to eight weeks before product is available on U.S. shelves after manufacturing resumes at the facility. For product shipments from Sturgis plant to Canada, additional time may be needed before product is available on Canadian shelves.

• It's important to know there is no conclusive evidence to link our formulas to the tragic death of the two infants. Abbott conducts testing on products prior to distribution, and no Abbott formula distributed to consumers tested positive for Cronobacter sakazakii or Salmonella.

• We are committed to the highest quality and safety standards and are working to implement improvements.

• You can read more about our actions and the investigation here:
  Press Release

Our work to mitigate the infant formula shortage for Canada includes:

Prioritizing infant formula production in Columbus, Ohio

• At our Columbus facility we've converted other adult nutrition production lines to prioritize production of Similac^® ready-to-use liquid formula, a product that can be used directly from the bottle.

Releasing metabolic nutrition formulas

• Metabolic nutrition formulas previously on hold, and not included in the recall, are being released free of charge to patients, in coordination with health care professionals based on need and on a case-by-case basis.

• Patients and caregivers in need of these products should contact their health care professional to obtain necessary information.

We will do everything we can to ensure parents and caregivers have what they need to feed their babies. And we will keep you informed on our efforts to reopen the facility and increase supply of infant formula.

We are committed to earn back the trust so many millions of parents and caregivers have placed in us over the past
50 years. We know getting your baby high-quality infant formula is your priority. Please know it is ours too.