The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is committed to providing WIC participants with access to a variety of safe and healthy foods, including infant formula. In response to the recall for certain Abbott infant formulas, FNS has strongly encouraged WIC state agencies to take expedient action to ensure that WIC participants can exchange recalled product on hand, and can use WIC benefits in their EBT balance or on paper WIC food instruments to purchase product that has not been recalled.
FNS has offered WIC state agencies the opportunity to request waivers for certain WIC regulations in order to offer maximum flexibility to address this issue. The following waivers have been approved for the states listed under each waiver. States are in the process of reviewing and implementing these flexibilities and will coordinate with their vendors as necessary.
Additional WIC Flexibility in Response to the Impact of the Ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic on Nationwide Infant Formula Supply Chain Issues and 2022 Abbott Recall:
- Medical Documentation
- Maximum Monthly Allowance
- Vendor Exchanges
- Vendor Substitutions During Transactions
FNS Resources
- Infant Formula Safety
- Options for Returns and Exchanges of Recalled Product on Hand
- Process for State Agency Waiver Requests Related to Shortages
Additional Information from our Federal Partners
- FDA Announcement
- FDA Advisory
- FDA Infant Formula Safety
- FDA Salmonella (Salmonellosis)
- CDC Cronobacter Infection and Infants
Additional information from Abbott
- Abbott’s Press Release
- Abbott’s Recall Information Site
- Abbott’s Consumer Hotline: 1-800-986-8540