'It's a necessary product': Some parents still struggling to find infant formula
When Alicia Willar became a first-time mom in September, she knew she'd have a lot of new experiences.
However, she didn't expect struggling to find baby formula for her daughter would be one of them.
“And then all of the sudden I started her on formula and I was finding it hard to find,” says Willar. “I logged into the mom groups and it's a problem that we're all facing.”
Twelve-week-old Autumn has lactose sensitivity, which means Willar needs a particular type of formula.
She recently managed to find two tubs of her preferred store brand after a dash to a local Walmart, but once she runs out, she may have to switch to what she can find.
“But some moms, their babies are so sensitive, they're not able to do so, and some just can't afford it, because it's three times the price of the store brand,” says Willar.
Experts say the lack of formula on the shelves is continuing fallout from a critical shortage earlier this year after major U.S. manufacturer Abbott Laboratories, which makes the Similac, Alimentum and EleCare varieties, had to temporarily shut down its plant in Sturgis, Mich., due to bacteria contamination. That led the company to voluntarily recall powered formulas.
With those products pulled from shelves, the makers of generic store brands then struggled to make up the difference.
“There's some products out there, but prices have jumped dramatically because of supply chain pressures,” says Sylvain Charlebois of the Dalhousie Agri-Food Analytics Lab.
Charlebois says Canadian retailers rely on those manufacturers south of the border, and those companies are now focusing on restocking domestic retailers first.
Earlier this year, Health Canada approved some formulas to be imported from both the U.S. and the Netherlands to alleviate shortages, a measure that has been extended until the end of next year.
“Unfortunately, the bad news is that we're expecting shortages to continue, until probably mid-2023,” says Charlebois.
Health Canada says any parent having trouble finding their usual formula should speak to a health professional about available alternatives.
It also warns parents not to make homemade formula, or water down formula, which both can put a child's health at risk.
The Retail Council of Canada says stores are doing what they can make sure there’s supply available.
“Things are getting better, but we're still supply-chain challenged,” says Atlantic director Jim Cormier.
“We are hearing that hypoallergenic infant formula product, they’ve returned to the shelves, amino acid formulas are still available but behind the counter,” he adds.
Cormier says some stores may have to limit purchase amounts for now.
“Buy what you need and ensure there is enough there for everybody,” he says. “Because obviously when it comes to infant formula, that’s a necessary product.
In the meantime, Willar and other parents have connected in an online Facebook group, called “Formula Nova Scotia,” to help each other find what they need.
“We post photos of the store that we’re currently at, and what’s in stock there,” she says.
Something they may have to keep doing for at least another year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.