Information for health professionals
Learn more about which infant formulas are limited or unavailable, how to ensure you are using the formulas as intended, and which formulas are temporarily approved by Health Canada to support infant feeding during this temporary shortage.
The closure of a large infant formula manufacturing plant in the United States has resulted in a global shortage of infant formula for babies with allergies (Health Canada Advisory). Canada is experiencing an acute shortage of infant formulas designed for babies with food allergies:
- amino acid-based infant formulas (AAF)
- extensively hydrolyzed infant formulas (EHF)
Health Canada is monitoring the supply situation and is working with manufacturers to import product from countries with similar manufacturing practices and standards.
The Government has recently updated its
interim policy on importation, which includes a recent update to its current
list of products highlighting imported formulas now available to Canadians.
To help facilitate decision-making by health professionals, Health Canada has created a
decision tree resource (PDF) designed to guide health professionals in choosing alternative products and limiting the use of specialized products, where possible.
