Parents Are Being Advised To Not Made Homemade Baby Formula Despite Shortage

Amid the ongoing historic shortage when it comes to baby formula, a lot of parents are getting desperate, and understandably so. That means a lot of parents are trying out homemade formula recipes that are circling the web, and some might be potentially quite harmful and should therefore be avoided.

A lot of these formula recipes are found on social media posts, and many of them contain disinformation which can cause a great deal of harm. The main issue is that these posts are garnering millions of views and also thousands of comments.

Social media giants Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok have shared with Bloomberg that they are taking steps to combar this misinformation, whether by labeling them as potentially harmful or by removing them altogether. Despite that, the posts are still quit easy to find.

Of course, it is quite understandable that parents are turning to these recipes because of the dire situation, it’s important not to potentially risk a child’s life with a homemade recipe.

The USFDA has issued a warning to parents against using one of these recipes because they can cause nutritional imbalances. The organization announced: “Great care must be given to the decision to make infant formulas at home, and safety should be of prime concern.”

“The potential problems associated with errors in selecting and combining the ingredients for the formula are very serious and range from severe nutritional imbalances to unsafe products that can harm infants. Because of these potentially very serious health concerns, FDA does not recommend that consumers make infant formulas at home,” the FDA continued.

Part of the reason the shortage is so dire is that in addition to supply chain issues caused by the pandemic, in February 2022, there was a recall of Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare infant formulas, that were all produced by an Abott Nutrition factory located in Michigan.

The recall was due to a suspected Cronobacter infection that was linked back to these products, and so Abbott issue a voluntary recall of the products. These two events together caused the historic shortage that is causing a lot of panic.

The Biden administration has taken some steps to help the issue including signing the Access to Baby Formula Act, but the situation remains dire.