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美国国家公共电台 NPR--It's getting easier to find baby formula. But you might still run into bare shelves

时间:2023-09-13 15:58:06

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It's getting easier to find baby formula. But you might still run into bare shelves

Transcript1

Eight months ago, a big U.S. infant formula plant in Michigan shut down, causing shortages and sparking panic among families who couldn't find formula they needed to feed their babies.

Now, infant formula production has rebounded2, but it can still sometimes be a struggle for parents to find it.

New data released on Wednesday showed shelf stock rates for powdered infant formula was 87% last week, according to IRI Worldwide, an analytics and market research firm. That compares to rates of 88-90% before the crisis began in February — and rates of 69% in the summer at the peak of the crisis, when almost a third of powdered infant formula was out of stock.

But some experimental data from the U.S. Census3 Bureau shows there can still be problems. The latest Household Pulse Survey — which has small sample sizes — found at the end of September that about 30% of families with babies under a year old had trouble getting formula. That was a time period when IRI reported shelf stock rates to be in the 85-86% range for powdered formula.

In Riverside, Wash., Rakaiya Charley, a mother of an 11-month-old, said the crisis is still real. When she goes to the stores, she said she sees "mostly empty shelves, altogether. And then the options are very limited on which (type of formula) you can pick, especially living in a rural area."

The White House has said that total U.S. production so far this year has outpaced 2021 levels, even with the Michigan plant being down. That plant, owned by Abbott Nutrition, normally accounts for 20% of production.

Abbott spokesperson John Koval told NPR that the plant resumed production of several Similac products in September, which are expected to reach retail5 store shelves in the coming weeks.

Parents are still seeing empty shelves

At the peak of the crisis, Jessica Madden, a pediatrician and neonatologist in Cleveland, Ohio, helped organize a local effort to share formula supplies called the Cleveland Baby Formula Exchange.

She used Google forms to connect parents who needed specific formulas with families that had a surplus or couldn't use what they had bought.

These days, there are fewer requests coming through on the exchange. But it can still be hit or miss to find baby formula. "We are nowhere close to anywhere near being at a normal supply compared to May," Madden told NPR.

"I know of a few stores, for example in Greater Cleveland, they're pretty well stocked at all times with everything that you need. They're more in a suburban6 locations," Madden said. "And I know that out in our rural areas that there are still struggles with finding formula if you go about 45 miles outside of Cleveland."

Some stores have started to keep formula behind the customer service counter, where some parents might not see it, Madden said.

Distribution remains7 uneven8

Over-buying can also contribute to the problem, said Madden. People got into that habit during the peak of the crisis.

"A grandma is out shopping and she sees the formula her grandbaby uses," Madden said. "So she just buys a few even though her grandbaby might have plenty of it."

Even though there's more formula being produced, but there can be other snags in the distribution process, said Willy Shih, a professor at Harvard Business School who researches distribution and supply chains.

"The problem is, once it gets into a distribution warehouse9 for maybe some grocery chain in the south, they may have plenty — but I may have a distribution center for a grocery chain in the mountain states that is short. But moving it from one company's distribution center to another is actually very complicated," Shih explained.

WIC data shows the situation is improving

Another data point showing signs of recovery: redemption rates for the Women, Infants and Children program. More half of all baby formula in the U.S. is bought using federal WIC benefits, according to the Agriculture Department.

This data shows families who rely on the WIC program are getting close to finding formula they need in stores, said Brian Dittmeier, senior director of public policy at the National WIC Association.

"But as we enter this next phase of the crisis, we're seeing that the pre-existing disparities in food, access and distribution are being magnified and amplified," Dittmeier said. This might mean formula is harder to find in rural areas, neighborhoods that lack major grocery stores, and tribal10 communities, he said.

During the crisis, the federal government eased some rules to make it easier for families who use WIC to get formula. For example, families didn't face as many limitations on brands. Some of the changes are set to expire at the end of the year.

Dittmeier said he hopes the federal government extends them. "It would be disastrous11 in this moment to pull back on the flexibilities, because not just the supply, but the distribution of that the contract product is still not at a place where we can assure access every time a family goes to the store," he said.

Some say more changes are needed

The shortage has been a major political headache for the Biden administration. The White House response included efforts to speed up domestic production and allow imports of formula from plants in other parts of the world.

"We have seen some improvement. We understand that there's more work to be done. So we're going to continue to work on that as well," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

Administration officials who spoke4 to NPR on condition of anonymity12 to discuss details about the manufacturing situation said formula makers13 has streamlined production in the wake of the crisis and are currently choosing to produce less variety of sizes of formula, favoring smaller cans. This leaves some shelves empty where larger cans used to go, they said. But overall volumes have rebounded.

"Shelves may not look the way that everyone would like them to look, and it certainly causes understandable anxiety for families when they walk into a store that might not have full shelves," one administration official said.

Regulators have said they will allow foreign imports to become permanent. But some say that's not enough. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., plans to introduce a bill in coming weeks that aims to expand domestic competition for infant formula manufacturers.

"What we've tried to do is to make it possible for smaller companies to get them to be more competitive and be able to join the market as well," DeLauro said. "My concern about the overseas market is that that doesn't help with the domestic supply chain that we need here."


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 transcript JgpzUp     
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书
参考例句:
  • A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
  • They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。
2 rebounded 7c3c38746f183ba5eac1521bcd358376     
弹回( rebound的过去式和过去分词 ); 反弹; 产生反作用; 未能奏效
参考例句:
  • The ball rebounded from the goalpost and Owen headed it in. 球从门柱弹回,欧文头球将球攻进。
  • The ball rebounded from his racket into the net. 球从他的球拍上弹回网中。
3 census arnz5     
n.(官方的)人口调查,人口普查
参考例句:
  • A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
  • The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。
4 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
5 retail VWoxC     
v./n.零售;adv.以零售价格
参考例句:
  • In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
  • These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。
6 suburban Usywk     
adj.城郊的,在郊区的
参考例句:
  • Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
  • There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。
7 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
参考例句:
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
8 uneven akwwb     
adj.不平坦的,不规则的,不均匀的
参考例句:
  • The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
  • The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。
9 warehouse 6h7wZ     
n.仓库;vt.存入仓库
参考例句:
  • We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
  • The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。
10 tribal ifwzzw     
adj.部族的,种族的
参考例句:
  • He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
  • The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。
11 disastrous 2ujx0     
adj.灾难性的,造成灾害的;极坏的,很糟的
参考例句:
  • The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
  • Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨,血本无归。
12 anonymity IMbyq     
n.the condition of being anonymous
参考例句:
  • Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密,书中的人用的都是化名。
  • Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。
13 makers 22a4efff03ac42c1785d09a48313d352     
n.制造者,制造商(maker的复数形式)
参考例句:
  • The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
  • The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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