First baby formula cargo arrives in U.S. from Europe

WASHINGTON, May 22 (Reuters) - A navy cargo airplane carrying the first shipment of infant formulation from Europe to help tackle a crucial shortage in the USA landed in Indianapolis on Sunday, and the White House mentioned a second flight had been organized.

A Feb. 17 recall by prime baby system maker Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N) and the closing of its manufacturing plant in Sturgis, Michigan throughout an investigation by the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration has created one of the biggest infant formula shortages in recent history for U.S. households.

"This is a crucial step, however it's by no means the one step that should happen. We will proceed to work because the president has instructed us to look for every opportunity to increase supply," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who greeted the aircraft on its arrival.

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"This particular system is for a really, very small share of kids. Roughly 17,000 youngsters within the nation principally are the beneficiaries of this particular system," he mentioned.

President Joe Biden's administration is in search of to inventory empty cabinets with 1.5 million containers of Nestle (NESN.S) specialty toddler formulation. Biden last week invoked the Chilly War-era Protection Manufacturing Act to assist increase supplies.

The White Home mentioned on Sunday a second flight carrying method would leave from Ramstein Air Base in Germany in coming days. The White Home said that Abbott and a second baby formula maker, Reckitt , were the first corporations given priority standing for uncooked supplies beneath the Defense Production Act.

Pallets of infant system being shipped from Europe to the USA throughout Operation Fly Method are seen in a transport plane at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, in a photograph launched Could 22, 2022. The White House/Handout by way of REUTERS

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Nestle also said more shipments would arrive within the coming days. learn more

Troops used forklifts to unload packing containers of the cargo from the plane in Indianapolis and onto vans heading to distribution facilities.The White House stated 78,000 pounds (35,000 kg) of specialty toddler method - enough for 500,000 bottles - had arrived on the flight.

Abbott, the most important U.S. supplier of powder infant components, closed its Michigan plant following reviews of bacterial infections in four infants, worsening a shortage among a number of producers that started with supply-chain points tied to the coronavirus pandemic.

Abbott Chief Executive Robert Ford apologized for the shortage on Sunday and promised to repair it, adding the plant would reopen in the first week of June, and it would take six to eight weeks for products to succeed in retailer cabinets.

"We're sorry to every household we have let down since our voluntary recall exacerbated our nation’s baby formula scarcity," he wrote in a Washington Publish column.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday declared a state of emergency to forestall price gouging of child system.

"This emergency government order will help us to crack down on any retailer looking to capitalize on this crisis by jacking up costs on this essential good," Adams mentioned in a press release.

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Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein and Chris Gallagher, further reporting by Jessica DiNapoli in Davos, Switzerland, Barbara Goldberg in New York and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Ross Colvin, Invoice Berkrot, Chris Reese and Paul Simao

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Rules.