First baby formulation shipment arrives in U.S. from Europe

WASHINGTON, May 22 (Reuters) - A army cargo plane carrying the primary shipment of toddler method from Europe to help tackle a critical shortage in the United States landed in Indianapolis on Sunday, and the White House said a second flight had been arranged.

A Feb. 17 recall by top child formula maker Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N) and the closing of its manufacturing plant in Sturgis, Michigan throughout an investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has created one of the greatest infant components shortages in latest historical past for U.S. families.

"This is a vital step, but it's certainly not the only step that should happen. We'll continue to work because the president has instructed us to search for every opportunity to extend supply," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who greeted the airplane on its arrival.

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"This specific components is for a really, very small share of youngsters. Roughly 17,000 youngsters within the country mainly are the beneficiaries of this explicit system," he said.

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

The White Home mentioned on Sunday a second flight carrying components would go away from Ramstein Air Base in Germany in coming days. The White House stated that Abbott and a second baby formula maker, Reckitt , were the primary companies given priority standing for raw provides beneath the Defense Production Act.

Pallets of infant components being shipped from Europe to america during Operation Fly Components are seen in a transport plane at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, in a photograph launched May 22, 2022. The White House/Handout through REUTERS

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Nestle also stated extra shipments would arrive in the coming days. read more

Troops used forklifts to unload bins of the cargo from the airplane in Indianapolis and onto vehicles heading to distribution centers.The White Home said 78,000 pounds (35,000 kg) of specialty toddler formula - sufficient for 500,000 bottles - had arrived on the flight.

Abbott, the biggest U.S. supplier of powder toddler formulation, closed its Michigan plant following reports of bacterial infections in four infants, worsening a shortage among multiple producers that began with supply-chain issues tied to the coronavirus pandemic.

Abbott Chief Government Robert Ford apologized for the shortage on Sunday and promised to fix it, adding the plant would reopen within the first week of June, and it might take six to eight weeks for products to achieve store cabinets.

"We're sorry to every family we've let down since our voluntary recall exacerbated our nation’s baby method scarcity," he wrote in a Washington Put up column.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday declared a state of emergency to stop value gouging of child components.

"This emergency executive order will help us to crack down on any retailer looking to capitalize on this disaster by jacking up prices on this essential good," Adams stated in an announcement.

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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; Modifying by Ross Colvin, Bill Berkrot, Chris Reese and Paul Simao

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