Infant Formula Stockpile Bill Submitted to Assembly Health Committee

California infant formula stockpile bill prepared for committee deliberation this week after committee placement last week.

Assembly Bill 228, sponsored by freshman Assemblywoman Laurie Wilson (D-Suisun City), would require the State Department of Health and the Office of Emergency Management to stockpile infant formula and establish the purchase, management, and distribution of infant formula. during a future shortage in California. In addition, a new committee, the Infant Formula Advisory Committee, will be established to make recommendations on the new program.

Assemblywoman Wilson wrote a bill for a future shortage of infant formula. In the spring and summer of last year, nationwide shortages caused by a global supply chain crisis and multiple formula recalls resulted in the blend being out of stock in many areas. During the peak period from late May to early July, 70% of stores were out of mix. Most sores limited the number of people who could buy, while others limited purchases to only those that were medically necessary. Gov. Gavin Newsom even signed acts in an attempt to stop price gouging. While prices and supply have normalized, questions remain, especially about the speed of the White House’s response, as well as questions about what would happen if it happened again.

AB 228 will set up a system similar to the Ministry of Health’s inventory of influenza and other vaccines.

“Tday Team Wilson introduced our first bill this year regarding the lack of infant formula.” tweeted Wilson earlier this month. “AB 228 will create a strategic supply of infant formula to help Californians during a time of shortage.”

In a later interview, Wilson added: “I was horrified by last year’s shortage, which left many parents struggling to find a way to feed their children. If you stop breastfeeding at a certain age, this is the only thing your baby will eat. What was important to me was making sure we had a variety of blends available in stock.”

While support for the bill or its opponents has yet to gain support, with only a few co-sponsors in the Assembly speaking in support of the bill, many have begun to question whether such a stockpile is needed at all, as well as what the final cost would be.

“We are already solving the problem that we had last year as we solved these supply chain issues and started producing more of what is needed in the US,” Carly Tyler, sales manager for the baby products company, explained to Globe on Monday. “The solution is not a warehouse, which can be a logistical nightmare, but where we can produce what we need here and also have backups for the next crisis. This is a more general picture.

“And that’s not even counting the cost of all this. This will be very important to do in order to solve a problem that is already being solved. It makes much more sense to ensure that it can be produced here without major delays in transit, that backup sources are available, and that steps are taken to make it less easy to steal from stores. It’s one of the most stolen items from grocery and health stores, so if we start storing it behind glass more often or tighten up security, we could also save more of it from coming out that way. It’s not even considered in the bill.”

Last week, AB 228 was submitted to the Health Committee of the Assembly and is currently awaiting discussion.

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