First baby formula shipment arrives in U.S. amid crisis [Video]

• Around 78,000 pounds of baby formula was flown in from Germany via military aircraft.
• The first shipment arrived in Indiana on Sunday following President Joe Biden’s authorization to import such products from abroad.
• The packages contain specialized formula for children who can’t take regular formula due to medical issues.

The first shipment of baby formula has arrived in Indiana on Sunday. The package from Europe comes amid a nationwide shortage in the United States.

The package arrived via military aircraft, the use of which was approved by the Secretary of Defense upon learning that commercial aircraft were unavailable amid an urgent situation, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre explained.

The aircraft carried about 78,000 pounds of formula flown in from Germany. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack welcomed its arrival.

Vilsack informed reporters that the shipment contains specialized formula for children who can’t take regular formula due to medical issues. He said the products could provide for 9,000 babies and 18,000 toddlers for one week.

On Sunday, Jean-Pierre explained to reporters aboard Air Force One that the transportation process from Europe to the U.S. typically takes two weeks. But after President Joe Biden authorized Operation Fly Formula to import formula from abroad, that process was cut down to “approximately three days.”

The specialized formula flown in from Germany “serves a critical medical purpose and is in short supply,” she added.

Officials are expecting more imports in the coming days as parents and medical providers struggle to find baby formula.

The shortage started during the beginning of the pandemic and worsened due to the recent closure of a key manufacturing plant.

Top supplier Abbott Laboratories recalled some products in February over complaints of bacterial infections in infants who consumed products made at its Michigan plant.

Abbott and the Food and Drug Administration hope to quickly resume operations in the Michigan plant, but the agency acknowledged that it could take weeks for new products to make it to grocery stores.

The White House assured everyone that the imported baby formula, produced by Nestlé, was made in an FDA-approved facility. The products, like all imported foods, would also undergo inspection upon arrival.

On Saturday, Biden signed into law a measure that would allow the purchase of more formula using funds from a federal program that helps low-income women and children.

Source: NBC News