Over 70,000 pounds and 130 pallets of baby formula, such as Enfamil formula, have been delivered to Indianapolis from Germany. This comes after a nationwide shortage that has parents struggling to find a hypoallergenic formula for their children.
Why Is There an Enfamil Formula Shortage?
Currently, the out-of-stock rate for baby formula is at 43%, according to Datasembly. In combination with the pandemic and war in Ukraine, supply chain issues have overall increased dramatically.
As of February, the Abbott Nutrition facility, one of the largest producers of baby formula in the U.S., was shut down following two deaths and at least three hospitalizations caused by bacterial contamination. Because of this, Abbott Nutrition conducted a voluntary recall of their baby formula. This fact, coupled with the pandemic and war in Ukraine, has caused a nationwide baby formula shortage that the Biden administration plans to overcome.
Abbott’s CEO revealed in a Washington Post op-ed that the company plans to help by “supplying more formula to Americans than we were in January before the recall.”
Operation Fly Formula
The nationwide baby formula shortage is due to supply chain issues overall and the closure of one of the top producers of hypoallergenic baby formulas in the United States. The Biden administration has taken this issue head-on by putting Operation Fly Formula into effect, under which more than 20,000 pounds of formula, such as Enfamil formula, have already been shipped.
Up to this point, President Joe Biden has addressed the nationwide baby formula shortage by supplying the use of military planes for shipping and invoking the Defense Production Act to help ease the nationwide shortage.
These decisions were made because no commercial flights were available for shipment, and the time it would take to deliver the formula would take significantly longer. Furthermore, under the Defense Production Act (DPA) and a consent agreement with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Abbott Nutrition will be allowed to reopen safely.
Moreover, manufacturers will get priority on ingredients so that they can get to production as soon as possible and get baby formula back on the shelves.
So far, Operation Fly Formula has shipped approximately 78,000 pounds of European baby formula in a matter of days. According to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, following the shipment delivered by military aircraft, “This shipment provides enough formula to take care of 9,000 babies and 18,000 toddlers.”
The Enfamil formula from Operation Fly Formula will not be going on supermarket shelves. Instead, President Joe Biden plans to distribute the formula in areas “where the needs are most acute.” That means the majority of the shipment will be sent to hospitals, doctors, and pharmacies.
As of May 22, 2022, the Department of Defense has acquired a second shipment of Enfamil baby formula that will be transported from Ramstein Air Base in Germany to Washington Dulles International Airport. This shipment will transport approximately 114 pallets of hypoallergenic formula. At the same time, it will provide more than the first shipment – up to 1.5 million 8-ounce bottles.
What the Enfamil Formula Import Will Do for Supplies
Baby formula from Operation Fly Formula will be housed at the Nestlé distribution hub in Indianapolis. With the help of FedEx, the 130 pallets of formula will be transferred to the Nestlé distribution center, where they will be checked for quality control.
Nestlé plans to increase its production to help get baby formula back on the shelves. According to Nestlé, “We have significantly increased the amount of our formulas available to consumers by ramping up production and accelerating general product availability to retailers and online, as well as through hospitals and home health care for those most vulnerable.”
The Department of Defense is working on getting a second shipment to the U.S. from Germany to get shelves stocked for public consumption. In addition, President Biden went through with the Defense Production Act, which gives baby formula facilities priority over scarce resources so that facilities can produce baby formula as soon as possible.
With the help of FedEx and Nestlé, the imported Enfamil formula will be shipped and checked for quality assurance before it is sent out to hospitals, doctors, and pharmacies. Once the second batch arrives, the same process will be done, and hopefully, consumers will start to see more baby formula on the shelves.
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