The US is seriously short of milk powder, sending a C-17 military plane to Germany to bring 31 tons of milk home

This shipment is part of a campaign”Milk flying formula”, a new program of the administration of President Joe Biden to address shortages milk Baby powder is happening in America.

The White House said the parties involved are currently discussing the second shipment. It is expected that the second flight will leave Ramstein Air Force Base in the coming days.

The flight carrying formula milk landed in the US. Photo: Getty

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday declared a state of emergency to prevent the price of baby formula from blowing up. The largest milk powder producer in the US – Abbott Laboratories in mid-February had to recall in mid-February. products and closed the production plant in Sturgis (Michigan state) after a case of bacterial infection in 4 children was reported. This, combined with supply chain issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, has caused one of the biggest milk powder crises in recent years in the US.

Speaking to reporters at Indianapolis International Airport, Minister Vilsack praised the shipment, which he said could be enough to “take care of 9,000 babies and 18,000 toddlers for a week”. A total of 1.5 million bottles of milk are expected to reach US customers next week.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it will temporarily allow the import of baby formula from foreign manufacturers from today, May 23 in an effort to improve shortages. domestic shortage.

The Biden administration has also invoked the Defense Production Act to increase procurement of ingredients needed for formula production. Abbott and the second-largest manufacturer of infant formula, Reckitt, are the first companies to receive priority access to ingredients under the Defense Production Act.

Abbott CEO Robert Ford on May 22 apologized for the shortfall and promised to fix it. The factory will reopen in the first week of June, he said, and it will take six to eight weeks for the products to hit store shelves.

According to RT, Reuters