Abbott to pay $385 million to settle claims over 2022 baby-formula plant shutdown

Abbott Laboratories agreed to a $385 million settlement related to the 2022 shutdown of its Sturgis, Michigan baby-formula plant, the largest in the United States.

The plant’s problems triggered a Justice Department lawsuit and a recall of several infant-formula brands, including Similac, which worsened already strained supplies caused by pandemic disruptions and stockpiling.

Abbott said the settlement does not imply fault and noted that government testing of unopened formula from homes during the recall found no Cronobacter sakazakii, and that no distributed Abbott formulas have ever tested positive for the bacterium.

The agreement also resolves lawsuits brought by relators and multiple state attorneys general, concluding the regulatory scrutiny of the contamination investigation.