American parents are increasingly helpless. Four infants have been hospitalized due to nutritional deficiencies, doctors warn. Powdered milk imported from Europe, airlift… What measures have been taken to put an end to this shortage?
Babies hospitalized for nutritional deficiencies
Since several weeks, American parents face a significant shortage of powdered milk for their baby. But how to feed your child when there is no more suitable milk? Indeed, some powdered milks are only manufactured by the Abbott brand, which closed one of its factories in early May. Some parents have tried by all means to obtain infant milk, sometimes buying baby milk at exorbitant prices on the internet. Others have tried to make their own breast milk, but American doctors have warned of the dangers of such homemade recipes. They are also ringing the alarm bell following infant hospitalization : according to Business Insiderat least 4 babies have been admitted due to nutritional deficiencies at the Medical University of South Carolina and other establishments have recorded cases in Atlanta, Memphis and Tennessee.
31 tonnes of infant milk imported into the United States
The authorities decided to react by massively importing baby milk. This Sunday, May 22, a plane from Germany was carrying 31 tons of products and landed in Indiana. Other deliveries of this type are planned for the week to help destitute parents who no longer know how to feed their child in a way that meets their needs. For his part, the CEO of Abbott, the infant milk brand that closed one of its factories in February, apologized in the newspaper washington post of May 21. “We are sorry for all the families we have abandoned since our voluntary recall exacerbated the shortage of infant formula in our country,” said Robert Ford, who is ensuring more production in the coming months. “By the end of June, we will be providing more infant formula to Americans than in January before the recall. Finally, we are making significant investments to ensure this never happens again,” he added.
An airlift to import infant formula into the United States
This May 18, Joe Biden announced the establishment of an airlift to import infant formula meets US standards. “The Ministry of Defense will use its contracts with commercial cargo airlines, as it did during the first months of the Covid pandemic, to transport products from factories overseas“explained the White House. The American president also asked his Ministers of Health and Agriculture to “take all possible and appropriate measures to import more baby milk” and invoked a law called the “Defense Production Act” which stipulates that the ingredients of infant milk powder must be sold in priority to milk manufacturers. Finally, the FDA relaxed its criteria in order to speed up the authorization of imports and authorized the restart of the Abbott factory in Sturgis.
Nestlé and Danone agree to deliver infant milk to the United States
Some brands such as Nestlé for example have already announced the shipment of infant formula. The food group announced on May 17 to AFP that it was going to send by plane, from Switzerland and the Netherlands, two brands of hypoallergenic baby milks cow’s milk protein intolerant. These are Gerber Good Start Extensive HA milk, and Alfamino milk. “We have prioritized these products because they address critical medical needs.”, said a spokeswoman for the Nestlé group. According to Reuters, Danone has also pledged to increase shipments of its baby milk powder to the United States.
Where does the milk shortage in the United States come from?
At the beginning of May, the stock-out rate reached 43% i.e. 10% more than the average for April 2022, according to data provider Datasembly. The infant milk shelves are indeed empty, in particular due to supply problems, as well as the closing of a factory of the manufacturer Abbott. The starting point of this shortage? The death of two babies which forced this milk manufacturer to recall powdered milk on February 17 (including Similac milk), in its factory located in Michigan. The targeted milk was ultimately not in question, but milk production could not resume, which aggravated the shortage.