Another shipment of baby formula from Europe will arrive in the US on Wednesday
Empty shelves show a shortage of baby formula at a Target store in San Antonio, Texas, May 10, 2022.
Kaylee Greenlee Beal | Reuters
FedEx Express secured a government contract to bring another shipment of infant formula to the US on Wednesday, NBC News reported.
Express aircraft will carry Nestlé baby formula from Ramstein Air Base in Germany to Dulles International Airport near Washington, DC. From there, the formula will be shipped to a Nestlé facility in Pennsylvania. It is unclear how many formulas the plane will carry.
The move is intended to address a severe infant formula shortage in the United States after the leading formula maker Abbott Laboratories closed a manufacturing plant after reports of bacterial infections in four infants.
Abbott said it will take about two weeks to reopen the factory and up to eight weeks for the product to hit shelves nationwide. That leaves a huge gap in the scores of parents across the country.
In an effort to ease the burden, the Food and Drug Administration is increasing imports of infant formula from other countries. Dubbed the “Operation Fly Formula,” the first shipment, carrying 78,000 pounds of special infant formula, to sunday.
Chairperson Joe Biden also beg The Defense Production Act aims to increase production of infant formula. His administration is looking to stockpile 1.5 million containers of Nestle’s special baby formula.