Biden Administration will facilitate air shipment of approximately 548,000 8-ounce bottle equivalents of Nestlé Alfamino® and Alfamino®Junior specialty infant formula this week
President Biden announced
that his Administration is sourcing a flight, facilitated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), for Operation Fly Formula to transport Nestlé infant formula from Switzerland to Louisville, Kentucky on June 16. This delivery will include over 44,000 pounds of Nestlé Health Science Alfamino® and Alfamino® Junior specialty formula, the equivalent of approximately 548,000 8-ounce bottles. The product will be available primarily through a distribution pipeline serving hospitals, home health companies, and WIC programs around the U.S., with additional deliveries of Nestlé formula being announced in the coming days.
Since May, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the agency is exercising enforcement discretion so that Nestlé can export additional infant formula into the U.S. Nestlé will import both standard and specialty infant formulas to the U.S. including Nestlé NAN SupremePro 1, Nestlé NAN SupremePro 2, Nestlé Health Science Alfamino/Alfamino, Jr., Gerber® Good Start® Gentle and Gerber Good Start® Extensive HA®. Nestle plans to export approximately 42 million 8-ounce bottle equivalents into the U.S. market.
President Biden launched Operation Fly Formula to speed up the import of infant formula and start getting more formula to stores as soon as possible. Under Operation Fly Formula, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the Department of Defense (DOD) are partnering to pick up overseas infant formula that meets U.S. health and safety standards, so it can get to store shelves faster. This is the seventh Operation Fly Formula mission and will be Operation Fly Formula flights landing the week of June 13. By June 19, Operation Fly Formula flights will have imported nearly 13 million 8-ounce bottle equivalents of infant formula.
In addition, the Biden Administration has taken a number of other important actions to ensure there is enough safe infant formula for families, including invoking the Defense Production Act, entering into a consent agreement between the FDA and Abbott Nutrition to reopen the company’s Sturgis facility, and issuing FDA guidance so that major formula manufacturers can safely import formula that is not currently being produced for the U.S. market. Details of our actions can be found at whitehouse.gov/formula.