The meeting will serve as an update on the production of formula and on Operation Fly Formula - the administration's program to fly in baby formula from overseas.Ībbott officials have said they expect to restart the plant on June 4 and begin shipping new formula to stores about three weeks later. Heath and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy will join Biden at the sit down. and Gerber at the White House on Wednesday.īut one company is missing from the meeting: Abbott Nutrition, who started the shortage and is one of the nation's biggest manufacturers of baby formula. and Gerberīut Biden will sit down with leaders of baby formula manufacturers ByHeart, Bubs Australia, Reckitt, Perrigo Co. President Joe Biden meeting with formula manufacturers at White House including ByHeart, Bubs Australia, Reckitt, Perrigo Co. The 380,000 pounds of Bubs Australia infant formula, approximately 4.6 million 8-ounce bottles, will arrive in Pennsylvania and California on June 9 and June 11 respectively. The administration also announced a fourth flight - this time with formula from Australia. The formula will be on Target shelves 'within weeks' of its arrival into the United States.
United Airlines has agreed to transport Kendamil formula free of charge. The shipments start June 9 and will contain 3.2 million 8-ounce bottle equivalents of Kendamil Classic Stage 1 and 540,000 8-ounce bottle equivalents of Kendamil Organic. The administration has not been able to say exactly when more formula will be available.īut the White House did announce a third shipment from Operation Fly Formula - this time bringing in Kendamil infant formula from the UK to the U.S.
Kansas, Georgia, Texas, Montana and Tennessee are among the states experiencing the worst of the shortage.Īdditonally, families that rely on funds from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, have also been hit hard. Before the pandemic, the normal out-of-stock range for powdered formula was 5% to 7%, according to IRI. New data shows that nationally 23% of powdered baby formula was out of stock in the week ended May 22, compared with 21% during the previous week, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing figures from the market-research firm IRI.īefore the recall of the Abbott formula, 11% of powdered baby formula was out of stock because of covid pandemic-related supply-chain shortages and inflation. Minorities and lower-income families have been hit hardest by the crisis, which was sparked when Abbott Nutrition had to close its Michigan plant over safety concerns, resulting in bare grocery shelves, an uptick in prices and frantic parents. The pressure is on President Joe Biden as the baby formula shortage is getting worse around the United States, particularly in the South and among the poor.