Senate Panel Advances Bill Boosting FDA’s Baby Formula Scrutiny

A key Senate panel Thursday unanimously approved legislation that would bolster the US government’s oversight of baby formula manufacturing, a move to stem the flow of contaminated products tied to several infant illness outbreaks in recent years.

The bill (S. 272) instructs formula makers to notify the US Food and Drug Administration within one business day of discovering contaminants in their food products. Agency officials would be tasked with initiating an investigation and corrective actions by the following business day under the legislation marked up by members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

“Maintaining visibility ...