DOJ Dropped Abbott Baby Formula Charges Despite Mountain of Evidence

The U.S. Justice Department has closed a years-long criminal investigation into Abbott Laboratories over its management of a contaminated baby formula facility, opting for a civil settlement despite rank-and-file prosecutors believing they had sufficient evidence to file charges.

Some prosecutors and supervisors believed the government possessed enough evidence to criminally charge the company under federal food contamination laws.

Investigators had considered a misdemeanor charge for violating the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, a separate count for misleading the government, and charges against at least one individual.

However, top decision-makers instead closed the probe, choosing to claw back money earned through federally funded nutrition programs rather than pursue a criminal trial.

A Justice Department spokeswoman confirmed the closure, characterizing criminal charges as heavy-handed and stating the department does not believe in "regulation by prosecution."

Shift in Corporate Enforcement

The outcome underscores a broader shift within the Justice Department under President Donald Trump toward a lighter-touch approach to corporate enforcement.

A White House executive order issued in May 2025 instructed officials to minimize criminal sanctions where civil penalties are available, reserving prosecution for willful non-compliance causing substantial public harm.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, whom Trump has nominated for the permanent position ahead of a confirmation hearing next month, has previously criticized pursuing corporate cases without sufficient evidence to charge individual wrongdoers.

Abbott's defense team included Mark Filip, a former deputy attorney general, who last year urged the Justice Department to remove the criminal prosecution powers of the consumer-focused office leading the probe.

Plant Conditions and Civil Resolution

The criminal investigation originated in early 2022 when investigators discovered traces of potentially deadly cronobacter sakazakii bacteria at Abbott’s facility in Sturgis, Michigan.

Food and Drug Administration inspectors reported standing water, poor employee handwashing, and five distinct strains of the bacteria, with a former official testifying the plant was "out of control."

The bacteria was suspected of sickening four infants, two of whom died.

While Centers for Disease Control and Prevention testing showed the bacterial samples from two infants were not closely linked genetically to the plant, regulators maintained the facility posed a serious risk.

Abbott has consistently denied any link between its plant conditions and the illnesses, noting that no unopened, distributed formula tested positive for the bacteria.

The Justice Department subsequently alleged in a civil lawsuit joined by 31 states that Abbott "knowingly" failed to follow manufacturing standards and maintained a "culture of concealment."

The department and Abbott reached a settlement to resolve that civil suit last month, though the exact terms of the financial recovery remain undisclosed.