The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a third round of planned flights carrying emergency shipments of baby formula to the United States from Europe, as President Joe Biden was scheduled to meet with baby formula manufacturers at the White House.
The third Operation Fly Formula shipment will come from the United Kingdom and carry more than 300,000 pounds of Kendamil infant formula — the equivalent of about 3.7 million 8-ounce bottles. They will begin shipping on June 9 and reach multiple airports over the course of three weeks.
Parents will be able to find Kendamil Classic and Kendamil Organic formula at Target stores around the U.S., the White House said. It is the first shipment of the brand made by Kendal Nutricare after the Food and Drug Administration expanded its enforcement flexibility to allow it.
Under this effort, the administration has so far used Department of Defense-contracted planes to import the equivalent of about 1.5 million bottles of formula. The first shipment landed in Indiana and the second in Virginia.
Meanwhile amid the ongoing formula shortage, President Biden will meet with top U.S. health officials and manufacturers to receive an update on their own efforts to ramp up production.
The leaders of ByHeart, Bubs Australia, Reckitt, Perrigo Company and Gerber will join the president, along with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.
President Biden has also authorized the use of the Defense Production Act in an attempt to speed up formula production by allowing companies to get first in line to order the ingredients they need, potentially avoiding bottlenecks.
This is a developing story. Check back later for further updates.
