Does a picture show "pallets of formula" in Mexico, proving that there is only a shortage of baby formula in the United States because "the Biden Administration wants us to suffer"? No, that's not true: Not only does the picture not show baby formula but the U.S. shortage is caused by well-documented events that are unique to the country and have nothing to do with what the Biden administration wants for the American people.
The claim appeared in a Facebook post on June 7, 2022. The post features an image of products stacked in a grocery store and text that reads:
I firmly believe this!!
Our family is on vacation in Mexico. Not the mainland, but an island off the coast. We went grocery shopping today and guess what? The shelves and isles were full. There was even pallets of formula. Folks we are being played. There is a shortage because the Biden Administration wants us to suffer. It is all about manipulation and control.
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Thu Jun 16 14:27:54 2022 UTC)
As a fact check from Truth or Fiction -- which seemed to use the original post published on May 30, 2022, which is now inaccessible -- explained, the image in the post does not show "pallets of formula." The two products shown in the picture, Lacdel and LALA, are dairy products sold in Mexico (see here and here), not formula products. A FAQ page from LALA even explains that guardians should contact their physician regarding whether children under 2 years old should consume the company's products. A screenshot of the guidance is below:
(Source: LALA screenshot taken on Thu Jun 16 15:08:35 2022 UTC)
It's true that Mexico is not experiencing the same baby formula shortage as the United States -- however, that's because the U.S. shortage was caused by a unique set of circumstances. As explained in other Lead Stories fact checks about the shortage (here, here, here and here), a widespread formula recall, national inflation and supply chain issues are among the reasons that there formula is hard to find. In May 2022, the Biden administration announced efforts to lessen the effects of the shortage on Americans.
