Rep. DeLauro Cites Infant Botulism Outbreaks in Call for Formula Safety Reform

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) responded to the outbreak of infant botulism linked to Nara Organics infant formula, calling on Congress to pass the Infant Formula Safety Modernization Act.

The legislation, introduced in the U.S. House by DeLauro with bipartisan support in March, aims to modernize federal oversight of the nation’s infant formula supply and close gaps in testing, transparency and regulatory enforcement.

“In just seven months, we have experienced two outbreaks of infant botulism tied to powdered infant formula,” said DeLauro in a June 16 statement. “First, a ByHeart outbreak which sickened 48 sick babies across 19 states, and now Nara Organics with babies in three different states — all of them between two and five months old — now fighting for their lives. Something we previously had not thought was likely, or even possible, now has caused two outbreaks with two separate companies within the same year.  

“This is not an isolated incident — it is a concerning pattern that begs the question; are we doing enough to ensure the safety of infant formula in this country? Before ByHeart and Nara Organics, in 2022, there was Abbott’s facility in Sturgis, Michigan, that shut down after a Cronobacter sakazakii outbreak, triggering a nationwide shortage that left families scrambling for formula and babies hospitalized and in some cases, dead. 

“The food we give our babies must meet the highest standard of safety. Right now, it does not, and the gaps in the system are clear. It is time Congress take up my bipartisan Infant Formula Safety Modernization Act. Multiple crises year after year show the current system is not working, and we must be doing more. No family should have to wonder whether the formula in the can is safe, and no family should have to rush their baby to the hospital because the systems we put in place to protect them failed.”

The Infant Formula Safety Modernization Act is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Consumer Reports, Prolacta, Consumer Federation of America, Environmental Working Group, Center for Science in the Public Interest, STOP Foodborne Illness and the Association of Public Health Laboratories.