First baby formula shipment arrives from Europe on U.S. military plane

div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpBy Ahmed Abouleneinp

pWASHINGTON Reuters – A military cargo plane carrying the first shipment of infant formula from Europe to address a critical shortage in the United States landed in Indianapolis on Sunday.pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

pA Feb. 17 recall by top baby formula maker Abbott Laboratories and the closing of its manufacturing plant in Sturgis, Michigan has created one of the biggest infant formula shortages in recent history for U.S. families.p

pPresident Joe Bidens administration is seeking to stock empty shelves with 1.5 million containers of Nestle specialty infant formulas. Biden last week invoked the Cold Warera Defense Production Act to help increase supplies.p

pThe Sunday plane is carrying 78,000 pounds 35,380 kg of specialty infant formula, the White House said.p

p“There‘s about enough formula on that plane, specialty medical grade formula, for about a half a million bottles. That’s about 15 of the overall national volume this coming week,” White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese told Fox News Sunday.p

pAgriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was there to greet the plane.p

pAbbott, the biggest U.S. supplier of powder infant formula, closed its Michigan plant following reports of bacterial infections in four infants, worsening a shortage among multiple manufacturers that began with pandemic supplychain issues. p

pAbbott Chief Executive Robert Ford apologized for the formula shortage on Sunday and promised to fix it, adding that the plant would be reopened in the first week of June, and it would take sixtoeight weeks for products to reach store shelves.p

p“We‘re sorry to every family we’ve let down since our voluntary recall exacerbated our nations baby formula shortage,” Ford wrote in an opinion column published in the Washington Post.p

pFord said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation did not find links between the formula production area of Michigan facility and four cases of sick children but that it did find evidence of bacteria present.p

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pp Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein, additional reporting by Chris Gallagher, editing by Ross Colvin and Bill Berkrotp

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