Press Release - President Biden Announces Twelfth Operation Fly Formula Mission

Biden Administration will facilitate air shipment of approximately 2 million 8-ounce bottle equivalents of Danone's Nutricia specialized medical infant formula on July 8

Today, President Biden is announcing that his Administration is sourcing flights, facilitated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), for Operation Fly Formula to transport Danone's Nutricia specialized medical formulas from Europe to New York, New York and Chicago, Illinois on July 8 These two deliveries will include a total of approximately 190,000 pounds of Neocate Junior and Neocate Infant DHA/ARA, the equivalent of approximately 2 million 8-ounce bottles and are for babies with severe cow's milk or multiple food protein allergies. The specialty formula will be mainly available through medical distributors.

In May, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the agency is exercising enforcement discretion so that Danone can export additional infant formula, including Neocate Infant DHA/ARA and Aptamil First Infant Milk Stage 1. Danone plans to export approximately 38 million 8-ounce bottle equivalents into the U.S. market, which also includes their Aptamil baby formula from Ireland and New Zealand.

President Biden launched Operation Fly Formula to speed up the import of infant formula and start getting more formula to stores and medical distributors 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 families who need it faster. By July 3, Operation Fly Formula will have transported more than 37.2 million 8-ounce bottle equivalents to the U.S.

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.