Faced with the shortage of infant milk in the United States and the distress of young parents, Joe Biden announced a series of measures, including the establishment of an airlift to import baby milk powder.
An airlift to import infant formula into the United States
[Mise à jour du 20 mai à 10h48]. Since several weeks, American parents face a significant shortage of powdered milk for their baby and the authorities decided to react. 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.
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.
Why is there a milk shortage in the United States?
At the beginning of May, the stock-out rate reached 43%, or 10% more than the average for April 2022, according to data provider Datasembly. The shelves of infant milk are indeed empty, in particular due to supply problems, as well as the closure 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. In addition, babies who depend on specially adapted milks produced only by Abbott are the most affected by this crisis. According to the White House, 5,000 infants are affected, as well as children suffering from rare metabolic diseases.