A US military plane carrying several tons of baby milk powder landed in the US state of Indiana on Sunday. The plane carrying more than 31 tons of baby food had taken off from the German US base in Ramstein a few hours earlier. There has been a shortage of baby formula in the US for several months. US President Joe Biden last week announced an airlift to bring in baby food from abroad to meet demand.
The first shipment covers about 15 percent of immediate needs, the president’s economic adviser Brian Deese told CNN. It’s Nestlé baby food. More shipments “will arrive at the beginning of the week,” he added.
The infant formula was shipped to Indiana, where a Nestlé hub is located. There it will be quality tested at a nearby laboratory before being distributed in the country.
The reason for the baby food shortage is a chain of circumstances: during the corona pandemic, baby milk powder production dropped due to supply bottlenecks and lack of staff. Then, in February, Abbott was forced to close a milk powder plant in Michigan after the deaths of two children. Inspection by the Food Safety Authority showed the product was good – just last week the authority and Abbott agreed to resume production. But it will be weeks before powdered milk returns to supermarket shelves.