CBS News
· collected 2026-09-14 · by Sarah N. Lynch
Abbott Laboratories agreed to pay nearly $385 million to settle a civil False Claims Act case with the Justice Department and several states regarding bacterial contamination at its Michigan baby formula plant. The settlement, announced on Monday, resolves allegations that Abbott caused government programs to purchase powdered infant formula made in unsanitary conditions, potentially endangering infants' health. Despite federal prosecutors initially supporting felony charges, senior DOJ leadership opted for a civil resolution, citing accountability and public protection as primary goals.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-14,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Abbott Laboratories agreed to pay nearly $385 million to settle a civil False Claims Act case with the Justice Department over bacterial contamination at its baby formula plant in Sturgis, Michigan. The plant closure in 2022 led to significant supply shortages, impacting several infant formula brands like Similac. Federal prosecutors had initially sought felony charges but were ultimately directed by senior DOJ leadership to pursue a civil resolution instead. Tests conducted by government regulators on unopened products from homes of infants involved during the recall found no presence of Cronobacter sakazakii, a bacterium harmful to babies. The settlement, which does not admit fault or liability, also resolves lawsuits filed by relators and attorneys general of several states.
Written for “Abbott Formula Settlement” on 2026-09-14,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.50, but none of the 3 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 9186: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-14
Baby formula maker Abbott Laboratories agreed to pay nearly $385 million to resolve a civil False Claims Act case with the Justice Department and some states stemming from a Cronobacter bacterial contamination at one of its plants in Michigan that manufactures powdered baby formula, the department announced on Monday.
uncertain
department → agree → Monday
Earlier this year, the Justice Department
to close a parallel criminal investigation, CBS News previously reported.
asserted
News → close → investigation
Federal prosecutors originally tried to pursue felony charges and had the support of Tysen Duva, the assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, but senior DOJ leadership would not allow the case to proceed.
asserted
case → try → Division
A senior DOJ official told CBS News in February that the department felt that a civil False Claims Act resolution was "the best mechanism to achieve accountability, deterrence and protection of the public" in the matter.
uncertain
resolution → tell → matter
The civil False Claims Act case alleged that the company caused government programs to purchase powdered infant formula alleged by the government to have been made "in an environment that put the products at unacceptable risk of microorganism contamination and significantly impacted the products' reliability, quality, and safety.
uncertain
that → allege → reliability
"
"No company should be gambling on the health and safety of our nation's infants by allowing unsanitary conditions to persist at a facility manufacturing baby formula," said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward in a statement.
asserted
Woodward → gamble → statement
The company said the settlement with the government "does not represent any finding of fault or liability," according to a statement.
uncertain
settlement → say → statement
"As the government has previously indicated, it has closed its criminal investigation on this matter," the company said, adding that tests conducted by government regulators of unopened formula products from the homes of the infants under investigation at the time of the 2022 recall were negative for Cronobacter sakazakii.
asserted
tests → indicate → sakazakii
The decision to pursue a civil settlement with Abbott Labs and close the parallel criminal case marks one example in a string of corporate cases involving public health and safety under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act that have been softened, dismissed or lost support from senior Justice Department leaders in recent months, CBS previously reported.
asserted
CBS → pursue → months
Earlier this year, the Justice Department allowed Alibaba to enter into a nonprosecution agreement and pay $600 million, even though prosecutors on the case believed they had evidence the company was liable for felonies by failing to prevent dangerous drugs, chemicals and pill presses from being sold to American customers over an eight-year period.
asserted
company → allow → period
"If prosecuting cases involving the risk of injuries or death to premature infants are not a priority enforcement matter, I have questions about what priorities the DOJ considers worthy of pursuing," Schiff wrote in a letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche.
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Schiff → prosecute → Blanche
In 2022, Abbott Laboratories
several of its popular powdered formula brands, including Similac, after consumers complained about related to products from Abbott Nutrition, in Sturgis, Michigan.
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consumers → include → Sturgis
The Justice Department said the company had failed to take steps to fix roof leaks, resorting instead to "temporary solutions" that still left its products at risk for microorganism contamination.
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that → say → contamination
The department also said that the company "intentionally did not test for bacterial growth to avoid obtaining positive test results showing contamination" and that in some cases where testing showed evidence of micro contamination, it failed to disclose those results to the Food and Drug Administration during inspections in 2019 and 2022.
asserted
it → say → 2019
