Urgently needed baby food arrives in Louisville from Switzerland | news
LOUISVILLE, KY — A large shipment of baby formula for children with cow’s milk allergies arrived in Louisville Thursday from Switzerland thanks to Operation Fly Formula.
According to the White House, the shipment of Nestle Alfamino and Alfamino Junior specialty foods will contain enough for about 548,000 eight-ounce bottles. Kentucky’s Lt. gov. Jacqueline Coleman, Federal Health Officer and USP Vice President of Air Operations Capt. Houston Mills gathered at the UPS Worldport in Louisville on Thursday to receive the shipment.
The formula is scheduled to be distributed to hospitals, home health programs, and WIC programs across the United States. Further deliveries from Nestle are expected to be announced in the coming days.
President Joe Biden launched Operation Fly Formula in response to the nationwide baby formula shortage that began in February after the Food and Drug Administration closed an Abbot Nutrition facility in Sturgis, Michigan — the largest baby formula factory in the United States .
The facility had to be shut down due to serious safety concerns, including the risk of contracting a bacterial disease from the powdered formula. The FDA has reported that four infants contracted a rare bacterial infection after drinking the formula, and two of them died.
The shortage of infant formula has been a serious problem for people across the country in recent months, particularly infants with allergies or health conditions that require them to drink special formula. Older children, adolescents, and adults with certain health conditions are also severely affected.
Hospitals have encouraged mothers to breastfeed amid the crisis, which has helped many find relief, but breastfeeding isn’t always an option. Women who are taking certain medications, have had breast remodeling surgery, are undergoing chemotherapy, or have babies with allergies may not be able to breastfeed.