In 2022, the United States experienced a severe shortage of infant formula as a result of the 2021–2022 global supply chain crisis compounded by a large scale product recall after two babies allegedly died after consuming Abbott infant formula, import restrictions, and market concentration. Unlike other food products, infant formula often does not have an available and acceptable substitute as a source of nutrition for those who rely on it. In addition to infants, the formula recalls affected non-infant medical patients who require nasogastric feeding or have certain other conditions.

Infant formula, also called baby formula, simply formula, baby milk or infant milk, is an ultra-processed food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, usually prepared for bottle-feeding or cup-feeding from powder or liquid. The U.S. Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) defines infant formula as "a food which purports to be or is represented for special dietary use solely as a food for infants by reason of its simulation of human milk or its suitability as a complete or partial substitute for human milk".