An emergency shipment of baby formula arrived by chartered airplane at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Thursday, June 9.
The delivery from Cologne, Germany, was part of the Biden administration’s “Operation Fly Formula” program, a federally-coordinated effort to expedite imports of baby formula from Europe. The shipment that arrived Thursday is the fifth so far.
The United States has been experiencing a significant baby formula shortage since early March, following the temporary closure of an Abbott Nutrition formula plant in Sturgis, Michigan.
The closure occurred following the deaths of two infants who contracted severe infections after consuming products made in the Sturgis facility.
The flight on Thursday carried 110,000 pounds of Nestlé NAN SupremePro Stage 1 infant formula, roughly 1.6 million eight-ounce bottles, according to a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“This formula will be distributed online to get it into parents’ hands as quickly as possible,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, speaking from the tarmac as the baby formula was being unloaded. “In the coming weeks, we’re gonna continue to make baby formula available whether online, through retailers, grocery store chains, or directly through the manufacturer — so parents can access it as quickly as possible.”
Ten more shipments are expected to arrive in the coming weeks, according to WFAA.
Abbott Nutrition restarted production at its Sturgis facility on June 4 after reaching a deal on health and safety guidelines with the Food and Drug Administration. Still, it could take some weeks before its products hit shelves.
“We understand the urgent need for formula, and our top priority is getting high-quality, safe formula into the hands of families across America,” an Abbott National spokesperson wrote in a statement. “We will ramp production as quickly as we can while meeting all requirements.”