US flies in baby food through Ramstein
US soldiers in Ramstein load infant formula on a trip to Plainfield, Indiana
Image source: AFP / AIRMAN FIRST CLASS ALEXCIA GIVEN
For weeks, parents in the US have been searching for nearly empty baby food shelves. The US government has now responded to this shortage by flying in food from Europe. The first machine loaded with 32 tons of baby food started in Ramstein over the weekend.
sThere has been a shortage of baby food in the United States for weeks. And now the airlift must fill the shelves again. On Saturday evening, the first machine carrying more than 32 tons of baby food on board took off from the US Air Force base at Ramstein in the Rhineland-Palatinate, White House National Economic Council Director Brian Daisy said on Tuesday. Sunday on CNN.
According to the White House, the amount should be enough to fill more than half a million baby bottles. According to Des, more flights are scheduled in the coming days. US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was present when the shipment arrived in Indianapolis.
US President Joe Biden tweeted during his trip to Asia: “Our team is working around the clock to provide safe food for children to everyone who needs it.” Biden declared bottlenecks a top priority and, among other things, activated a wartime law to boost infant formula production again.
The background to the crisis is the failure of the Abbott plant, the largest infant formula manufacturer in the United States. Abbott recalled several production lines after four children fell ill and two died, possibly due to bacterial contamination. Production at one of the company’s plants in Michigan paused in February.
Empty shelves: Pictures like this one in Medford, Massachusetts, are not uncommon in the US in May 2022
Source: Reuters
Biden also announced “Operation Fly” last week. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered flights to the site on Friday. The White House announced that military aircraft from Ramstein will initially be used due to the urgency of not having commercial flights available over the weekend. However, in the future, most deliveries will be handled by commercial aircraft.
Abbott Chief Defends Subpoena
Abbott CEO Robert Ford lamented Saturday. “We feel sorry for every family we’ve let down since our voluntary recall exacerbated baby food shortages in our country,” Ford wrote in a guest post for the Washington Post.
However, one would think the recall was correct. “We will not take any risks when it comes to children’s health,” she said. It is known that due to the lack of Abbott’s special foods, some children who could not digest other foods and milk came to the hospital. “This is tragic and heartbreaking.”
Ford announced measures to overcome bottlenecks. The president of Abbott wrote that producing this special food was the top priority. Affected families must be helped with $5 million (4.73 million euros). In addition, another Abbott factory that used to make adult products has now been converted into baby food.
In addition, baby food is flown from a factory in Ireland. The Michigan plant is expected to reopen in the first week of June. Abbott is also investing in measures to ensure such bottlenecks do not happen again.