Shipment of baby formula arrives in Dallas as part of 'Operation Fly Formula'
DALLAS - Relief landed in North Texas Thursday for parents looking for baby formula.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra was on hand to welcome the shipment arriving from Germany, which is enough to fill more than 1.5 million eight-ounce bottles.
The formula will be shipped all over the country as part of Operation Fly Formula.
This is the third shipment of baby formula to be shipped across the country with help from the federal government.
This batch will be sold online.
Other shipments will follow in the coming weeks, which will go to retail chains.
A FedEx cargo arrival has probably never received this much attention at DFW Airport.
The charter flight from Cologne, Germany, landed Thursday with precious cargo.
The crew was greeted by local medical professionals and HHS Secretary Becerra.
The plane was transporting 110,000 pounds of Nestle infant formula.
"It means roughly 1,600,000 eight-ounce bottles of nutrition for their children, that’s what this is," Becerra said.
The giant shipment of baby formula will go directly to the Nestle distribution warehouse in Fort Worth to be sold online.
"This is an online-only shipment because of our desire to get to market fastest to cover all 50 states, but WIC programs are where we been playing special attention," said Molly Fogarty, with Nestle.
WIC services more than 50% of babies in the U.S.
Under Operation Fly Formula, HHS, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the General Services Administration, and the Department of Defense are partnering to pick up infant formula from other countries that meet U.S. health and safety standards, so it can get to store shelves faster.
Many parents have been struggling to find baby formula for a couple months now.
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Secretary Becerra said a long-term fix is in the works.
"FDA is beginning to work with manufacturers domestically and abroad to make sure that we have the constant supply," he explained.
Another large shipment of baby formula from a different manufacturer also arrived in D.C. Thursday.
Doctors know babies can be finicky about what kind of formula they take too.
A pediatrician from Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth offered parents some advice.
"Access to formula is extremely important to ensure all of babies get the nutrients they need to grow and thrive," Dr. Jason Terk said. "Families, if you have any concerns or questions about formula or switching formula, please reach out to pediatricians like me. We’re here to help you."
Secretary Becerra suggests people check with Nestle directly or go to the Health and Human Services website for information.