Abbott Laboratories agreed on Monday, September 14, 2026, to pay $385 million to settle legal claims involving its baby formula manufacturing plant in Sturgis, Michigan. The settlement addresses litigation from state attorneys general and other parties following a 2022 investigation into potential contamination at the facility.
The Sturgis plant, which is the largest baby formula manufacturing site in the United States, was closed by Abbott in February 2022 after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began an investigation. The closure and a subsequent recall of powdered formulas, including the Similac brand, occurred while the industry was already facing supply chain disruptions and consumer stockpiling related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abbott stated that the settlement includes no finding of fault or liability. On Monday, the company reported that regulatory tests on unopened formula retrieved from the homes of infants during the 2022 investigation were negative for Cronobacter sakazakii, a bacterium that can cause infant illness. Abbott also noted that no unopened, distributed products have ever tested positive for the bacteria.
The concrete impact for consumers is the formal closure of litigation that stemmed from a time when many families could not find specific formula brands on store shelves. The 2022 shortage necessitated a change in federal policy, where the Biden administration relaxed import rules for foreign manufacturers to fill the gap left by the Sturgis plant's temporary closure. For families, this meant a transition to different brands or imported products during the four months the plant was offline between February and June 2022.
The resolution also marks the end of several government inquiries. A criminal investigation by the Justice Department has been closed, and the facility has been back in operation since mid-2022. While the settlement ends the current litigation brought by state officials and relators, it establishes a financial precedent for how major manufacturers resolve large-scale supply and safety disputes with the government. No further court dates or specific deadlines for the distribution of the $385 million were reported.