On board, 132 pallets of Nestlé brand infant formula. A plane that left Germany with more than 31 tons of cans of baby milk powder intended for the American market landed on Sunday May 22 in the United States, according to images broadcast on American television channels.
President Joe Biden clarified on Twitter that a second shipment was on its way to the United States. “We have secured a second flight to transport Nestlé’s special infant formula to Pennsylvania”tweeted the president. “The flight and trucking will take place in the next few days, and I will continue to update you”he added.
I have an update on Operation Fly Formula. We have secured a second flight to transport Nestlé specialty infant formula to Pennsylvania.
The flight and trucking will take place in the coming days, and I will continue to keep you updated.
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 22, 2022
The United States has been experiencing a shortage of baby milk for several months, caused by supply and labor problems linked to Covid-19, then aggravated by the closure, in February, of a factory of the manufacturer Abbott in Michigan, after a product recall suspected of causing the deaths of two infants.
“A market 90% controlled by three companies”
Abbott CEO Robert Ford presented on Saturday in the columns of washington post (in English) his apologies for this shortage that affects thousands of American families, for whom finding milk for their baby has become a real obstacle course.
But beyond that, asks CNN the main economic adviser to Joe Biden, Brian Deese, “How did we arrive at a market 90% controlled by three companies?” He insisted on the need to think about how to“bringing more competition into (the) economy” American, of“to have more baby milk suppliers so that no one company has such control over the production lines. And we’re going to have to work on that”.