United States To Import Baby Formula From Mexico, But Parents Must Wait

Approximately 1.3 million cans of Gerber Good Start Gentle Infant Formula will be imported into the US from Mexico, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a Friday update.

According to Fox News, shipments of about 33 million full-size, 8-ounce bottles — or £2.2 million — are expected from Nestlé on Gerber’s website and at major retailers starting in July and expanding through October.

“The FDA is exercising enforcement discretion for the import of Gerber Good Start Gentle from Nestlé (Mexico) after reviewing information regarding nutritional adequacy and safety, including testing, labeling, and facility production. [and] inspection history,” the agency tweeted.

The FDA said the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is evaluating options to bring the products to the US as soon as possible amid a nationwide infant formula shortage.

“The FDA will continue to dedicate all available resources to ensuring that safe and nutritious infant formula products remain available for use in the US and to keep the public informed of progress updates.”

It said it is in further discussions with manufacturers and suppliers regarding excess supplies and that its work to deal with shortages has “already begun to improve supply and availability.”

“The agency expects that the measures and steps it is taking, and the capacity for Abbott Nutrition’s Sturgis, Michigan, facility to safely resume production in the near term, will mean greater supplies are on the way.” or moving onto store shelves,” it wrote in a Friday news release.

Following the import announcement, regulators said they would reach a deal to allow Abbott Nutrition to restart its Michigan plant. The plant has been closed since February due to pollution issues.

Since then, under the Biden administration’s “Operation Fly formula,” additional shipments have come in from overseas, with more ordered earlier this week.

President Biden told reporters on Wednesday that he was not aware of the seriousness of the then-potential nationwide infant formula shortage until April.

The HHS inspector general said Thursday it would audit the FDA’s decision to close the Abbott plant.