After five years of talks with American regulators, British infant formula maker Kendal Nutricare finally began shipping to the US this month — but only after a national shortage forced Washington to approve emergency airlifts by foreign suppliers.

The crisis was sparked in February when a safety scandal forced Abbott Laboratories to shutter a plant in Michigan that supplied 15 per cent of US formula. It worsened amid supply chain strains linked to Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine, and a wave of panic buying after stores including Walmart, Kroger and CVS started rationing sales.

As shortages persist despite a ramp-up in production at other US factories and the temporary approval of foreign supplies, Abbott, a $180bn medical device and healthcare company, is facing a political firestorm. Meanwhile, calls are growing for a shake-up of a US formula sector dominated by Abbott and Reckitt Benckiser with 80 per cent market share.