Walgreens Will Limit Baby Formula Purchases Amid Shortage

DEERFIELD, IL — A limited supply of baby formula nationwide is forcing retailers to put limits on how many consumers can buy. Walgreens, the Deerfield-based pharmacy store chain, is only allowing customers to purchase three infant and toddler formula products per visit.

"Due to increased demand and various supplier challenges, infant and toddler formulas are seeing constraint across the country," a Walgreens spokesperson told Patch. "Similar to other retailers, we put into effect purchase limits of three per transaction on all infant and toddler formula to help improve inventory. We continue to work diligently with our supplier partners to best meet customer demands."

Walgreens Boots Alliance, which runs over 9,000 Walgreens stores in the U.S. and more than 570 in Illinois, said the policy will go into effect at all of its pharmacies.

Supply chain issues and baby formula recalls are among the factors contributing to the shortage. CBS News reports manufacturers are having increased difficulty procuring key ingredients, along with dealing with packaging hangups and labor shortages. At retailers across the U.S., 29 percent of the top-selling baby formula products were out of stock as of the week of March 13, according to an analysis by Datasembly.

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In February, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced an investigation into consumer complaints of Cronobacter sakazakii and salmonella newport infections following a number of reported cases. Among the cases, two infants died of illnesses from Cronobacter sakazakii, a rare and dangerous germ that is particularly deadly to infants. All of the cases are reported to come from consumed powdered infant formula produced from Abbott Nutrition’s Sturgis, Michigan, facility.

Abbott Nutrition is part of Abbott Laboratories, based in Abbott Park, Illinois. The company is the maker of Similac, Alimentum and EleCare. Last month, it expanded its recall of baby formula produced at the Michigan factory. The recalled products were shipped nationwide.

In March, it was also announced a shareholder rights law firm is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty or violations of state law by leaders of Abbott Labs.

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