In response to the formula milk crisis, the US sent planes to carry milk from Europe

On May 22, the White House announced that a military plane carrying more than 35 tons of powdered milk had departed from the US airbase at Ramstein (Germany) and landed at the airport in the central state of Indiana. .

According to DW, this is the first in a series of flights within the framework of the “Formula Airlift” campaign, authorized by US President Joe Biden over the weekend to alleviate the daily formula shortage. more severe in the country. During this campaign, military planes were deployed to transport the first batches of infant formula to the US because no commercial flights could participate.

Brian Deese, President Biden’s economic adviser, told CNN that the first shipment will meet about 15% of immediate formula demand in the US. In total, about 1.5 million 237 ml bottles, including three different branded formulas, are expected to be available to US consumers this week.

“This is an important step, but not the only one. We will continue to work at the direction of President Biden to explore every opportunity to increase supply,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. .

In a statement on Twitter while on a visit to Japan, President Biden affirmed that the authorities are making every effort to bring quality public milk to each people in need. According to Biden, the US government is preparing to ship a second shipment, including lots of Nestle infant formula, to Pennsylvania in the coming days.

The US fell into a shortage of infant formula milk after Abbott – the largest milk producer in the country, was forced to close a factory in Sturgis, Michigan, due to the discovery that some milk products were contaminated. infection. In February 2022, Abbott recalled brands of formula produced from this factory, after four infants using products manufactured there fell ill with bacterial infections, of which two had died. dead.

In addition, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic also made the supply of formula milk scarce in the US due to the disruption of the global supply chain. According to Datasembly’s survey of more than 11,000 retailers, the “sold out” rate on baby formula shelves in the US rose to 43% at the beginning of the month.

Washington officials acknowledge that domestic production of infant formula is becoming too concentrated for large companies, and hope to create more competition in the market for this product soon.

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