Shelves typically stocked with baby formula sit mostly empty at a store in San Antonio, Tuesday, May 10, 2022. If infant formula has become akin to liquid gold for parents stressed about empty store shelves this year, Canada may be sitting on a potential treasure trove — if only it could process the raw elements. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Eric Gay
OTTAWA – If infant formula has become akin to liquid gold for parents stressed about empty store shelves this year, Canada may be sitting on a potential treasure trove – if only it could process the raw elements.
Canada has a surplus of the main ingredient for infant formula, but without a market for the product, dairy producers say a lot of it is either going to waste or being sold on the cheap as animal feed.
The material, called solid non-fat, is basically what is left over from raw cows milk once it has been processed.
Canada has so much of it that in the 2023 federal budget, the government set aside $333 million to help the dairy industry figure out what to do with it all.
Food, Health and Consumer Products of Canada says manufacturers are interested in making baby formula in Canada, but the industry group says the rules here are so strict it makes it difficult to justify the investment.
Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says processing infant formula is an important goal to shore up Canada’s supply, but it will take a long time.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18, 2023.
