A military cargo plane carrying the first batch of infant formula from Europe to address a critical shortcoming in the United States landed in Indianapolis on Sunday.
The White House said a second flight had been arranged.
The recall on Feb. 17 of leading infant formula makers Abbott Laboratories and the closure of a plant in Sturgis, Michigan, during an investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration led to one of the biggest infant deficiencies in recent history for American families.
“This is an important step, but it is not the only step that needs to take place. We will continue to work, as the president has instructed us to look for all opportunities to increase supplies,” said Agriculture Minister Tom Wilsak, who welcomed the plane.
“About 17,000 children in the country mostly use this formula,” he said.
President Joe Biden’s administration is seeking to put 1.5 million containers of Nestle special baby formulas on empty shelves.
Last week, Biden cited the Cold War-era Defense Manufacturing Act to help increase supplies.
Nestle also said that new deliveries will be received in the coming days.
The military used forklifts to unload boxes of cargo from a plane that the White House said carried 35,000kg of special baby formula – enough for 500,000 bottles – and trucks to distribution centers.
Abbott, the largest supplier of baby powder mixes in the U.S., closed its plant in Michigan after reports of bacterial infections in four infants, exacerbating a shortage among many manufacturers that began with pandemic supply chain problems.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday declared a state of emergency to prevent price increases.
“This emergency order will help us deal with any retailer who wants to benefit from this crisis by raising prices for this essential commodity,” he said in a statement.
https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/health/us-gets-baby-formula-shipment-from-europe-c-6899260
