Nestle to provide 39.5m bottles of infant formula to U.S.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday said Swiss food company Nestle would make 39.5 million additional bottles of infant formula available to the U.S. to ease a nationwide shortage.

Under the FDA’s increased flexibilities, Nestle will send Gerber Good Start Gentle formula from Mexico and NAN Supreme Pro 1 and Supreme Pro 2 from Germany starting June through October.

About 1.3 million cans of Gerber Good Start Gentle will be available in the country beginning in July through October.

This was equal to about 2.2 million pounds or nearly 33 million full-size 8-ounce bottles.

The administration said about 249,500 cans of Nestlé NAN Supreme Pro 1 and Nestlé NAN Supreme Pro 2 would be available in June and July.

This was equal to about 440,000 pounds or nearly 6.5 million full-size, 8-ounce bottles.

Both set of products are expected to be sold on Gerber.com and through other key retailers and online.

The agency now said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was evaluating options for getting the products to the U.S. as quickly as possible.

Nestle had in May airfreighted Gerber Good Start Extensive HA from the Netherlands and Alfamino from Switzerland to the U.S.

Nestle then said these products were prioritised as they serve a critical medical purpose intended for babies with cow milk protein allergies.

The company said then that it was running formula factories at capacity and accelerated product availability to retailers, online sellers and hospitals.

The country started facing reduced supplies of infant formula in February after Abbott Nutrition, the largest U.S. infant formula manufacturer closed its plant in Sturgis, Michigan and recalled its most popular powder formulas.

Abbott nutrition recalled its products Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare, after reporting bacterial infections and related deaths in babies.

To meet the severe supply shortage, the FDA later urged infant formula manufacturers worldwide to import products to the U.S.

British nutrition products maker Kendal Nutricare agreed to send about two million cans of infant formula under the Kendamil brand initially to U.S. beginning in June.

The White House recently said the flights donated by United Airlines will airlift more than eight million bottles of baby food from Bubs Australia infant formulas from Melbourne, Australia as well as Kendamil products from the United Kingdom.

Earlier, a U.S. military plane carrying 78,000 pounds of baby formula reached Indianapolis from Germany. (dpa/NAN)