A shipment of baby formula aimed at filling a nationwide shortage arrived in the United States from Europe on Sunday, the Biden administration said, and a second flight is expected to bring additional supplies in the coming weeks. the coming days.
The White House said in a statement. It provides enough formula to care for 9,000 babies and 18,000 toddlers for a week, said Tom Vilsack, Agriculture Secretary, said in televised comments at the airport in Indianapolis, where the shipment arrived on a military plane from Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
“This shipment of formula serves an important medical purpose and will help infants with specific dietary needs that require specialized formula,” said Mr. Vilsack. said on Twitter.
The second shipment, expected to arrive this week, will bring the formula supply to the equivalent of 1.5 million 8-ounce bottles of three types of formula, which will then be distributed from a single facility. of Nestlé in Pennsylvania.
The effects of the Sturgis factory closures have been widespread, with stores limited to buying formula and parents desperately looking for supplies or trying to make formula at home. which pediatricians do not recommend. Shortages have also been exacerbated by supply chain woes and pandemic-related labor shortages.
A statement from the White House said pallets of powdered milk arriving on Sunday were “priority because they serve a vital medical purpose” and were in short supply due to the factory closure in Sturgis.
In another step to address the critical shortage, the FDA announced last week that it would relax some of its regulations to encourage new suppliers to supply formula. The United States typically produces about 98% of the formula it consumes, with imports coming mainly from Mexico, Ireland and the Netherlands.
