STURGIS, Mich. — Abbott Laboratories was alerted to allegations concerning problems at an infant-formula plant months earlier than previously publicly known, according to a government official, a person familiar with the matter and documents viewed by the Wall Street Journal.
A complaint filed under the U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s whistleblower-protection program by a former Abbott employee in February 2021 alleged a host of problems at the company’s Sturgis plant. They included failing equipment in need of repair and formula released without adequate evidence that it was safe for consumption, the person familiar with the matter said.
