Panic buying and U.S. recall have made it harder for Canadian parents to get hypoallergenic formula

Parents in the United States are facing an infant formula shortage — and some Canadians are running into the same struggle, especially when it comes to hypoallergenic formula. 

Roughly 40 per cent of infant formula that's normally available is out of stock in more than 11,000 stores in the U.S., according to online retail analyst Datasembly, a spike from the two to eight per cent seen during the first half of 2021. 

This comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a recall in February for powdered formula products from Abbott Nutrition that were produced in a Sturgis, Michigan, facility. The agency said the recall was due to risk of bacterial infections like salmonella. 

In Canada, retailers say they have not been hit as hard by the shortages, though the national spokesperson for the Retail Council of Canada said she's heard from one retailer that has struggled to keep a steady supply of formula available since 2021. 

"It has been considerably worse since Abbott's recall in February," said Michelle Wasylyshen in an email. 

For Loblaw, that recall has affected its ability to stock certain kinds of formula, but the company said that it's found alternatives.

"While this has left holes in our shelves, we do have a good supply of formula from our other vendors," a statement from Loblaw Companies said.   

The recalled products from Abbott are hypoallergenic formulas — a product that parents like Lindsay Ward rely on.

Ward's seven-month-old son has a cow milk protein intolerance. She said that it took three months to find a formula that Lucas could drink without having an allergic reaction: Abbott's Similac Alimentum formula. 

"That's the one formula that has worked," the Montreal mother said. 

Now, she's struggling to find it; she said she only got some recently after posting about it on an online community group.

"You feel guilty, because you don't want to feel like you're taking supply from anyone else," she said. 

Ward said she's even resorted to driving to the U.S., where she's found some stock — despite the shortages there. 

Her concerns are echoed by a pharmacist in her city who said his drug store is facing a shortage of Abbott products.