Hinchey urges Hochul to sign baby food safety act – Daily Freeman

KINGSTON, N.Y. — State Sen. Michelle Hinchey has urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign her baby food safety bill, after reports that the Trump Administration shut down a criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into Abbott Laboratories, the infant formula manufacturer at the center of a 2022 bacterial outbreak linked to infant deaths and hospitalizations, according to her office.

Hinchey, D-Saugerties, who represents the 41st Senate District, said she wants Hochul to sign the Baby Food Safety & Transparency Act, which passed the Assembly and state Senate chambers during this year’s session.

The Department of Justice’s decision came just months after Abbott contributed $500,000 to President Trump’s inaugural fund, Hinchey’s office said.

If signed into law, Hinchey’s bill would make New York the first state in the country to require greater transparency and stronger safety testing for baby formula sold in the state, the announcement said.

“It is unconscionable that a company can sell contaminated baby formula and evade criminal accountability because the Trump administration would rather take a check than deliver justice for the babies and families harmed,” Hinchey said in a statement. “ Every parent reasonably expects that when a corporation commits grievous harm to their children, it will be met with serious consequences, but instead, we are witnessing a complete abdication of duty, and New York cannot wait for Washington to do the right thing,” Hinchey said.

Hinchey’s office pointed to a Wall Street Journal report on June 28, showing that a years-long investigation by the DOJ’s Criminal Division concluded that there was sufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges against Abbott for allegedly selling contaminated infant formula. Despite their findings, the case was halted by senior Trump administration officials before charges could be filed.

Hinchey’s office also cited a July 6 Bloomberg Law story reporting that the Deputy Attorney General’s Office overruled career prosecutors’ recommendation to bring criminal charges against both the company and individual executives, instead directing the case toward a civil settlement under the False Claims Act – a dramatically weaker outcome that carries no criminal accountability and is simply a cost of business for the corporation.

Hinchey’s office said that the Department of Justice’s own allegations underscore the severity of the case. In a related civil lawsuit joined by 31 states, including New York, the DOJ stated in November that Abbott “knowingly” failed to follow manufacturing standards designed to prevent contamination, fostered a “culture of concealment” at its Sturgis, Michigan facility, and “withheld information from FDA related to the presence of microorganisms in the Sturgis facility,” Hinchey’s office said.

According to Hinchey’s office, the Baby Food Safety & Transparency Act would:

* Ban the sale of infant formula and baby food in New York if products contain unsafe levels of heavy metals.

* Require manufacturers to test infant formula and baby food for heavy metals at least once per month and publicly disclose test results.

* Require new product labeling from manufacturers, including a QR code that links directly to each product’s test results.

* Create a consumer reporting system through the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets for suspected violations, with cases eligible for referral to the NYS Attorney General for enforcement.