Thursday morning on FOX and Friends, Ainsley Earhardt interviewed former FDA Associate Commissioner Peter Pitts who explained why the Abbott plant needed to be shut down in February and how it led to the baby formula shortage.
Pitts explained that the FDA found that it was absolutely necessary to shut down the Abbott plant when they found a lack of safety protocols, water on the floor, and the fact that the company was keeping information from the FDA. He explained that the FDA has been working 24/7 trying to get the plant back up and running, but it takes time to completely remediate the plant so that shelves can be restocked. He shared that the FDA has allowed Abbott to go back online for the three products of baby formula it manufactures since the only things left to remediate are those unrelated to the manufacturing process.
Pitts clearly laid out a plan for what needs to be done to avoid such a crisis in the future. He stated that there must be a strategic plan in place for consolidated food and drug industries, and Congress must give the FDA the resources needed to do “more robust and regular inspections” of these factories.