As the United States deals with shortages caused by the shutdown of major local plants and supply chain bottlenecks, airfreight logistics is becoming increasingly critical in transporting desperately needed infant formula from abroad production facilities.
Nestle Health Science stated Thursday that it has increased air shipments of its Gerber Good Start Extensive HA brand from the Netherlands and the Alfamino formula from Switzerland.
The White House took measures normally reserved for warfare on Wednesday to alleviate the issue for many families, instructing the Defense Department to direct commercial cargo airlines to deliver formulas to the United States from other countries. In addition, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act, which requires suppliers to prioritize the delivery of ingredients to formula producers over other clients.
The United States Transportation Command stated that it is coordinating “Operation Fly Formula” with the departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture on formula requirements that meet U.S. health and safety standards before leveraging existing commercial transportation contracts to expedite the importation of infant formula.
“Once we’ve found a manufacturer with accessible formula, we engage with them to acquire the details,” a senior administration official said Thursday during a White House media briefing on ways to alleviate the infant formula shortfall. Aircraft will arrive near the overseas manufacturing location and transfer the product to one of the company’s domestic facilities, where it will be examined by the FDA.
“And then we will work through vendors and merchants to come to that production plant and hopefully get it out to the neighborhoods that are most in need,” the official, who cannot be identified, added.
Getting rid of red tape
Strict import and safety regulations have raised the bar for foreign-made infant formula entering the United States, making it difficult for corporations to swiftly replace domestic deficiencies with international products. According to trade specialists, FDA rules for nutrition labeling, certification of overseas dairies, and extended waiting times for sales permission are costly to comply with and deter interest from abroad suppliers.
The FDA acted this week to reduce the red tape associated with the import procedure in order to boost the availability of baby formula across the country. According to new rules published Monday, the FDA will not object to the importation of certain infant formula products intended for a foreign market or the distribution in the United States of products manufactured in the United States for sale to other nations. It also stated that it may allow domestic companies that manufacture baby formula for export to move more production to the US market.
Other steps taken by the FDA in recent months to increase formula supplies include expediting certificates to allow already permitted products from abroad to move more freely into the United States and streamlining the import entry review process for certain products coming from foreign facilities with favorable inspection records.
The FDA went even further on Thursday, stating in a guidance document for the infant formula industry that it “intends to temporarily exercise enforcement discretion with respect to certain requirements for infant formulas that may not comply with certain statutory and regulatory requirements and is seeking information from manufacturers regarding the safety and nutritional adequacy of their products.”
Nestle is “reviewing the recommendations and analyzing where we may be able to leverage the Nestle global nutrition network to assist,” according to a spokesman.
Abbott Laboratories and the federal government have reached an agreement that could reopen the Sturgis plan in two weeks. According to company executives, it could take up to two months for new baby formula to hit store shelves.
Estimates of formula out-of-stock range from 21% to 43%, although many newborns require specialized formulas prepared in smaller batches that are extremely difficult to get currently.
