RFK Jr.’s Next Targets Are Companies Making Baby Formula

 Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is taking on baby formula products, the latest in his sweeping review of ingredients used in the US food supply.

Under Kennedy, the US Food and Drug Administration will begin a comprehensive examination of the nutrients used in infant formula and increase testing for heavy metals and other contaminants, HHS said in a statement Tuesday. The announcement comes as Kennedy was scheduled to meet with executives of companies that make infant formula, according to people familiar with the roundtable discussion.

It’s unclear exactly which companies were represented at the meeting. Firms that sell infant formula include Abbott Laboratories, which makes Similac, Enfamil maker Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, and relative newcomer Bubs Australia Ltd. HHS didn’t respond to a request for comment on the meeting.

Kennedy planned to discuss nutritional standards and shoring up the supply chain, one of the people said. Kennedy posted on social media in May 2024 that he was concerned about toxic metals in formula. During his presidential campaign, he said that if he were to be elected, the FDA, a part of HHS that he now oversees, would scrutinize formula ingredients.

Abbott shares fell 1.1% at 2:35 p.m. in New York. Reckitt, whose Mead Johnson unit makes formula, lost as much as 1.5% in London. Abbott, Reckitt and Bubs didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The US encountered major shortages of baby formula in 2022 after FDA inspectors found bacteria linked to two infant deaths in Abbott’s Michigan factory. When inspectors found dirty conditions at the plant, agency leaders shut it down, leading to an interruption in supply. The FDA released a long-term strategy earlier this year to help boost the resiliency of the US infant formula supply.

Abbott and Reckitt have also faced lawsuits over claims that the companies hid potential risks of formula for infants born prematurely. Kyle Diamantas, the new acting director of FDA’s food division, defended Abbott in some of those lawsuits in his role as an attorney at the law firm Jones Day, the New York Times reported.

Kennedy, a lawyer who was tapped to head HHS after joining US President Donald Trump’s campaign, has put his sights on foods that are ultra-processed or contain artificial dyes. He has said that he plans to investigate their links to chronic diseases, a key point in his Make America Healthy Again agenda.

The health secretary met last week with women who support him that he calls “MAHA Moms,” according to a social media post from HHS. He also met with food industry executives to pressure them to remove artificial dyes from their products.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/rfk-jr-next-targets-companies-154844689.html