Every morning, M.J. Jaafar goes online and scans through hundreds of postings trying to find baby formula for her three-month-old daughter.
Most days, she comes up empty. Then Jaafar’s heart sinks and anger sets in when she encounters scams and price gouging that victimizes families already desperate to feed their babies.
“It’s baffling and mind-blowing that people are using this crisis for infants to price gouge or scam people for money,” she said. “I’ve seen a lot of hoarders too, people going to every store and buying all the formula you could find and selling it on Facebook.”
FTC LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO INFANT FORMULA MARKET
As the baby formula shortage intensified this month, families are turning to Facebook groups in desperation. Hundreds of groups exist in which people sell or donate formula, along with giving advice on how to survive the traumatic manufacturing disaster.
Nearly half the nation’s formula is out of stock, primarily due to a shutdown of America’s largest manufacturer due to contamination.
Now an entire industry of secondhand products has emerged as people come to the realization that store shelves won’t be stocked any time soon. A 78,000-pound shipment from Europe arrived Sunday, destined for hospitals and doctor’s offices.
Jaafar’s daughter Maya was born in February, and she had 10 cans that lasted until this month. Her…
