FDA: Unsanitary Conditions Found at Baby Food Factory

March 23, 2022

U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigators found unsanitary conditions at an Abbott baby food factory in Sturgis, MI., linked to reports of bacterial infections in infants, the FDA said in a preliminary report issued Tuesday.

The report said Abbott didn’t maintain clean surfaces at the plant and that inspectors found a history of contamination with the bacteria known as cronobacter, according to The Associated Press.

The preliminary report may be followed with a more formal report later.

A food safety advocate said the FDA report was a step in the right direction but that Abbott still had questions to answer.

“This sheds a little more light on what went wrong, but we still don’t have all the answers,” Sarah Sorscher of the Center for Science in the Public Interest told the Associated Press. “Abbott and the FDA really need to do more work to get to the bottom of what happened so we can prevent the next outbreak.”