Worker shortages, availability of ingredients and shipping costs all play a role, said Jill Roberts, an associate professor with the University of South Florida College of Public Health.Īnother factor - the one that accelerated the crisis - was a voluntary recall of formula after several children became sick and two died, and the subsequent shutdown of the plant that produced that formula. Before the shortage became a national crisis, baby formula had already been affected by the same supply chain volatility that has made other products scarce.