DFW Airport Fields Massive Delivery of Much-needed Baby Formula
A flight from Germany carrying 110,000 pounds of infant formula landed at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Thursday as part of a federally coordinated effort to mitigate the nationwide shortage.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson welcomed the third Operation Fly Formula flight, which was stocked with enough Nestle infant formula to make about 1.6 million 8-ounce bottles.
The formula will be distributed online through already-existing channels, Nestle said.
“It’s going to be reaching the parents of America real soon,” Becerra said, gesturing to several metal pallets stocked with cans of powdered formula. The pallets came in on a FedEx Express MD-11 charter flight.
The delivery is one of several scheduled in coming weeks as parents across the country struggle to find food for their infant children. The formula industry, already reeling from pandemic-related supply chain issues, took a major hit in February when the country’s largest baby formula manufacturer recalled several products because of a potential contamination.
Abbott Nutrition’s plant in Sturgis, Mich., restarted production of its specialty formulas last weekend, although it will take a few weeks before the products are released to consumers.
Because Thursday’s shipment will be distributed entirely online, the cans cannot be used through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC. Low-income families eligible for the program can also only purchase certain formulas, although WIC has temporarily expanded what formulas it accepts in response to the shortages.
Parents of children with food allergies and digestive issues have had a particularly difficult time finding formulas specially designed not to upset their babies’ stomachs. Thursday’s flight delivered only the general-use formula Nestle NAN SupremePro Stage 1, although previous Operation Fly Formula flights have contained several different formula recipes.
North Texas parents, desperate for food for their young kids, have turned to social media, food banks and pediatricians’ offices for formula. Dr. Jason Terk, chair of the Texas Public Health Coalition and a pediatrician at Cook Children’s, said he and his colleagues have been fielding calls every day from parents searching for formula.
“It’s really been very challenging for them on a day-to-day basis to try to find food for their babies, a very basic and integral thing that we as parents do for our kids,” he said.
Without access to formula, babies risk significant health issues, including delays in development.
Operation Fly Formula represents a partnership between Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the General Services Administration and the Department of Defense to hasten the import of formula from other countries. The Food and Drug Administration has also worked to approve the safety of the formula products.
The Biden Administration announced several other Operation Fly Formula flights to the U.S. in coming days, which will deliver a total of 300,000 pounds of Kendamil infant formula and 380,000 pounds of Bubs Australia infant formula.
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