(Reuters) – New Zealand’s A2 Milk Company Ltd said on Wednesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had deferred the dairy producer’s request for an enforcement discretion to import infant milk formula products into the United States.
A2 said it was informed by the International Dairy Foods Association that pending enforcement discretion applicants have also received similar communication from the FDA, indicating that the regulator is deferring any further review of all such applications at this time.
Earlier this month, a2 dismissed a report suggesting that it was close to winning approval to sell baby formula in the United States, adding that the application was still under active review.
Dairy companies in Australia and New Zealand have queued up to restock empty shelves in the United States with baby food, after the country recently relaxed its import policy to mitigate one of the biggest infant formula shortages in recent history.
Apart from Bubs Australia Ltd, UK-based Kendamil, Nestle SA and Danone SA, the FDA is yet to approve baby formula products from other applicants.
(Reporting by Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
