Does not matter: FDA’s handling of formula recall leaves parents fuming

Mar 07, 2022

With help from Helena Bottemiller Evich

QUICK FIX

— Parents have taken to social media to express their rage over the recent infant formula recall, many wondering if their babies' own Salmonella infections and other mystery illnesses are related and could have been prevented with quicker government action.

— House Ag members will turn their attention to rural development programs in the farm bill on Tuesday. The discussion is likely to include many of the themes Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack highlighted in his most recent hearing on rural economies.

— Oregon is set to become the eighth state to mandate overtime pay for farmworkers, after the legislature late last week sent a bill to the governor's desk that would phase in an hourly threshold for higher wages.

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Driving The Day

PARENTS STILL GRAPPLING WITH INFANT FORMULA RECALL: Over the last few weeks since the FDA recalled three popular brands of Abbott Nutrition baby formula, parents have taken to social media to express their anger toward the company and the government — and, in many cases, to report that their babies also got sick, reports our Helena Bottemiller Evich.

On IG and TikTok: While CDC's official count is that there are five hospitalizations as part of this outbreak, a spin through Instagram and TikTok reveals dozens of unconfirmed but detailed, heartbreaking reports of babies hospitalized for Salmonella and other bacterial infections after reportedly consuming Abbott formula that was later recalled, using hashtags like #similac #screwyou.

POLITICO spoke with several families who believe contaminated formula sickened their baby and, in some cases, almost killed them. One mother in Florida said her baby, who was exclusively fed recalled formula, was hospitalized with a type of meningitis caused by Salmonella and stopped breathing, suffered a stroke, went into a coma for nine days and is now blind and deaf.

"I have my baby," Deborah Rossick said, choking back tears. "I almost lost my baby — I still have her. But she is a completely different baby."

From FDA: POLITICO has repeatedly asked the FDA to explain why there was a months-long lag between receiving reports of illnesses, conducting an inspection and then ultimately pulling products off the market. The agency has repeatedly declined to do so.

"We know there have been questions about the timeline," FDA said in a statement. "However, this remains an open inspection with many moving parts. Our top priority is ensuring that any recalled product produced at this facility is taken off the market."

The agency said it would conduct a review of its response once the investigation into the contamination is over.

Congress stepping in: House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) on Thursday asked the Health and Human Services Department's inspector general to investigate whether the FDA "took prompt, appropriate and effective action" in the lead-up to the massive recall.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), a senior member on the panel, wrote to Abbott Nutrition demanding documents and other information by this Thursday.

From Abbott: "We are very sympathetic to the families. We value the trust parents and caregivers place in us, and ensuring the safety and quality of our products is our top priority," Abbott Nutrition said in a statement, later noting that cases of infant illnesses are under investigation and the cause of infections has not been determined.

HOUSE AG TURNS TO RURAL DEVELOPMENT: Members of House Agriculture's Commodity Exchanges, Energy and Credit Subcommittee are slated to hold another farm bill hearing on Tuesday, this time focusing on rural development — the sixth title of the 2018 bill.

What we're watching: In his latest appearance before Congress, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack called on lawmakers to prioritize programs that can create a "circular economy" in rural and agricultural regions.

Going into this hearing, issues of housing, competition, infrastructure and broadband are front of mind for many lawmakers.

G.T.'s take: House Ag Republicans have long raised concerns over the lack of oversight hearings held by the committee on programs authorized in the 2018 farm bill.

"There may be things that we need to address that we didn't think about in 2018. There may be things that are no longer necessary," ranking member G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) told reporters last week. "But the primary way to learn that is to have those hearings, listening sessions and field hearings."

But Thompson told your host that he thinks Tuesday's hearing will be on topic and help get the ball rolling on negotiations.

"Any of these hearings right now are helpful, especially if we can get before us folks from USDA that are responsible for administering the 2018 farm bill," he said. "I think that's the key part at this point, having those respected leaders that are responsible for the different titles like Rural Economic Development."

FORMER AG CHAIR REGISTERS TO LOBBY: Our POLITICO Influence friends report that former House Ag Chair Mike Conaway has registered to lobby for the first time since leaving office last year, according to lobbying disclosures filed last week.

Going for crypto: Along with former chief of staff Scott Graves and Matt Valesko, Conaway will lobby for the Association for Digital Asset Markets, a crypto industry group that bills itself as devising standards for digital market participants. They'll work on "legislative framework and regulatory issues" surrounding cryptocurrencies, according to the disclosures.

The lobbying hire by ADAM, its first, comes as the Ag committees have sought a larger role in oversight of the burgeoning crypto sector for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Conaway and Graves set up their lobbying firm, Conaway Graves Group, shortly after the Texas Republican retired from Congress last year. His registration, effective Feb. 7, comes after Graves' required one-year "cooling off" period that ended in January.

Around the Nation

OREGON PASSES FARMWORKER OVERTIME BILL: Oregon state lawmakers have joined seven other states in passing legislation that would provide farmworkers with overtime pay like those in other industries.

On Thursday, the legislature advanced a measure to Gov. Kate Brown's desk that would begin the phase-in process for higher pay rates. Brown is expected to sign the bill.

"Oregon legislators took action and sent a message to farmworkers that they, too, deserve fair overtime compensation — just like other hourly workers," said Reyna Lopez, executive director of Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste, an Oregon-based farmworker advocacy group.

How it works: The bill includes a 5-year phase-in for overtime pay that begins next year. Between 2023 and 2025, overtime pay would kick in for workers at 55 hours a week. From 2025-2027, the threshold for overtime pay would drop to 48 hours, and ultimately 40 hours per week in 2027.

Only California, Washington, Hawaii, New York, Minnesota, Maryland and Colorado have passed some form of farmworker overtime pay requirements.

Colorado also finalized its rulemaking process in February, after the legislature approved overtime protections last session but punted the specifics to the state Labor and Employment Department.

In a similar phase-in process that will begin in November, farmworkers could get overtime pay after 60 hours; then, in late 2023, after 56 hours for what is considered "highly seasonal" work (defined as 22 weeks of work). The threshold will drop from 58 to 48 hours for non-highly seasonal work.

Trade Corner

INTERNATIONAL STATE OF WHEAT: Russia's continued assault on Ukraine is raising concerns across the globe over the wheat supply that many in Europe, Asia and Africa rely on, reports the Associated Press.

The Russian invasion has forced many farmers in Ukraine, dubbed the "breadbasket of the world," to abandon their operations in search of safety. Wheat prices have surged 55 percent since a week before the invasion, even though immediate supply chain disruptions have yet to be seen.

If the war is prolonged, countries that rely on affordable wheat exports from Ukraine could face shortages starting in July, International Grains Council Director Arnaud Petit told the AP.

Meanwhile, China could see one of its lowest wheat yields in history, per Reuters , largely due to abnormally high rainfall last year that delayed a significant portion of planting.

U.S. by the numbers: Meanwhile, at the Chicago Board of Trade, wheat prices climbed 7.1 percent to $11.34 a bushel last Thursday — "hitting the exchange's limits for how much the price can move in a session for the third-straight day," writes The Wall Street Journal. In all, wheat futures jumped 22 percent last week.

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Row Crops

— The Florida Forest Service battled two large wildfires in the Panhandle over the weekend as dry, windy weather persists in the region and fire risks remain elevated, per the Florida Agriculture Department.

— Also in Florida: Vilsack will travel to Tampa today, where he'll visit Feeding Tampa Bay, a local food bank, along with Florida Ag Commissioner Nikki Fried.

— Labor Secretary Marty Walsh has taken a more hands-on approach to his role than his predecessors. But two upcoming labor disputes, including at West Coast shipping ports, could put his conflict resolution skills to the test. POLITICO's Eleanor Mueller and Nick Niedzwiadek have the story.

— Food prices hit a record high in February, in part due to rising dairy and oil costs, according to the U.N. food agency. Reuters has the report.

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