WASHINGTON: A military cargo plane carrying the first consignment of infant formula from Europe to help address a serious shortage in the United States landed in Indianapolis on Sunday, and white House Said that arrangements have been made for the second flight.
The recall by top baby formula maker Abbott Laboratories on February 17 and the closure of its manufacturing plant in Sturgis, Michigan during an investigation by the US Food and Drug Administration created the largest infant formula shortage in recent history for American families. has occurred.
“This is an important step, but it is by no means the only step that should happen. We will continue to work as the President has directed us to look for every opportunity to increase supply,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack , who greeted the plane on its arrival.
“This particular formula is for a very, very small percentage of babies. Roughly 17,000 babies in the country are basically the beneficiaries of this special formula,” he said.
President Joe BidenThe administration is seeking to stock empty shelves with 1.5 million containers of to shelter Special baby formula. Biden invoked the Cold War-era Defense Production Act last week to help boost supplies.
The White House said on Sunday that a second flight would take off from Ramstein Air Base in Germany in the coming days. The White House said that Abbott and another baby formula maker, ReckittThe companies were the first to give priority to raw supplies under the Defense Production Act.
Nestle also said that more shipments will come in the coming days.
Soldiers use forklifts to unload boxes of cargo from aircraft and trucks headed to distribution centers in Indianapolis. The White House said 78,000 pounds (35,000 kg) of special infant formula – enough for 500,000 bottles – had arrived in flight.
Abbott, the largest US supplier of powdered infant formula, closed its Michigan plant after reports of bacterial infections in four infants, worsening a shortage among several manufacturers, triggered by supply-chain issues linked to the coronavirus pandemic .
Abbott Chief Executive Robert Ford Apologizing for the shortfall on Sunday and promising to fix it, the plant will reopen in the first week of June, and it will take six to eight weeks for the products to reach store shelves.
“We are sorry for every family we have left because our voluntary recall exacerbates our nation’s shortage of infant formula,” she wrote in a Washington Post column.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday declared a state of emergency to stop the price hike of baby formula.
“This emergency executive order will help us crack down on any retailer seeking to capitalize on this crisis,” Adams said in a statement.
The recall by top baby formula maker Abbott Laboratories on February 17 and the closure of its manufacturing plant in Sturgis, Michigan during an investigation by the US Food and Drug Administration created the largest infant formula shortage in recent history for American families. has occurred.
“This is an important step, but it is by no means the only step that should happen. We will continue to work as the President has directed us to look for every opportunity to increase supply,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack , who greeted the plane on its arrival.
“This particular formula is for a very, very small percentage of babies. Roughly 17,000 babies in the country are basically the beneficiaries of this special formula,” he said.
President Joe BidenThe administration is seeking to stock empty shelves with 1.5 million containers of to shelter Special baby formula. Biden invoked the Cold War-era Defense Production Act last week to help boost supplies.
The White House said on Sunday that a second flight would take off from Ramstein Air Base in Germany in the coming days. The White House said that Abbott and another baby formula maker, ReckittThe companies were the first to give priority to raw supplies under the Defense Production Act.
Nestle also said that more shipments will come in the coming days.
Soldiers use forklifts to unload boxes of cargo from aircraft and trucks headed to distribution centers in Indianapolis. The White House said 78,000 pounds (35,000 kg) of special infant formula – enough for 500,000 bottles – had arrived in flight.
Abbott, the largest US supplier of powdered infant formula, closed its Michigan plant after reports of bacterial infections in four infants, worsening a shortage among several manufacturers, triggered by supply-chain issues linked to the coronavirus pandemic .
Abbott Chief Executive Robert Ford Apologizing for the shortfall on Sunday and promising to fix it, the plant will reopen in the first week of June, and it will take six to eight weeks for the products to reach store shelves.
“We are sorry for every family we have left because our voluntary recall exacerbates our nation’s shortage of infant formula,” she wrote in a Washington Post column.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday declared a state of emergency to stop the price hike of baby formula.
“This emergency executive order will help us crack down on any retailer seeking to capitalize on this crisis,” Adams said in a statement.