Apps

Abbott Agrees to $385 Million Formula Settlement

Chris Dalton · 2026-09-14T20:20:24.453Z

Abbott denying fault after unsanitary plant conditions led to that recall still leaves parents wondering about real accountability.

Abbott Agrees to $385 Million Formula Settlement — Photo: ajay_suresh / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Sponsored

Abbott Laboratories will pay $385 million to settle False Claims Act claims over its 2022 infant formula recall from the Sturgis, Michigan plant. DOJ announced it Sept. 14, 2026 after FDA found unsanitary conditions at the nation's largest formula facility. The recall included Similac and Cronobacter sakazakii. Earlier in 2026 DOJ closed the criminal case after prosecutors including Assistant AG Tysen Duva sought felony charges. DOJ alleges temporary roof-leak fixes, damaged equipment, inadequate safety practices, intentional non-testing for bacteria to avoid positive results, and withheld contamination results from FDA in 2019 and 2022. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said, "No company should be gambling on the health and safety of our nation's infants by allowing unsanitary conditions to persist at a facility manufacturing baby formula." Abbott said the settlement "does not represent any finding of fault or liability," the criminal probe is closed, and no unopened distributed products tested positive for the bacteria. In July Adam Schiff opened a congressional inquiry, writing Attorney General Todd Blanche: "If prosecuting cases involving the risk of injuries or death to premature infants are not a priority enforcement matter, I have questions about what priorities the DOJ considers worthy of pursuing." Detroit News reported $384 million. The plant reopened in June 2022.