US To Import 8 Mln Bottles Of Baby Formula From UK, Australia Next Week

In order to address the nationwide shortage of infant formula caused by Abbott Nutrition recall, the United States is importing more than 8 million bottles of baby food from Australia and the United Kingdom next week.

Under the third Operation Fly Formula Mission arranged by the Biden Administration, United Airlines has agreed to airlift approximately 3.7 million 8-ounce bottle equivalents of Kendamil infant formula free of charge from London’s Heathrow Airport to multiple airports across the country over a three-week period. These are the first Operation Formula Flight to be donated by an airline carrier.

The flights donated by United Airlines will begin shipping on June 9 3.2 million 8-ounce bottle equivalents of Kendamil Classic Stage 1 and 540,000 8-ounce bottle equivalents of Kendamil Organic, the White House said.

The Kendamil formula will be available for purchase at selected US retailers nationwide, as well as online. This first shipment will be available at Target stores across the country in the coming weeks.

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced that his Administration is sourcing two flights for Operation Fly Formula to transport Bubs Australia infant formulas from Melbourne, Australia to Pennsylvania and California on June 9 and June 11 respectively.

This delivery will include 380,000 pounds of Bubs Australia infant formula in 4.6 million 8-ounce bottles. Additional deliveries will be announced in the coming days, the White House said.

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it is exercising enforcement discretion so that Bubs Australia can export infant formula to the U.S. Under this increased flexibility, the Australian infant milk formula manufacturer plans to export to the United States 27.5 million 8-ounce bottle equivalents of several varieties of its infant formulas, including Bubs Organic Infant Formula S1, Bubs Organic Follow On Formula S2, Bubs Supreme Infant Formula, Supreme Follow On Formula, Bubs Goat Milk Infant Formula S1, and Bubs Goat Milk Follow On Formula S2.

To speed up the import of infant formula and get more formula to stores as soon as possible, Biden last month directed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to use the Defense Department’s commercial aircraft to pick up overseas infant formula that meets U.S. health and safety standards.

These flights will bypass regular air freighting routes to speed up the importation.

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