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 Bubs Australia infant formula from Melbourne, Australia to Los Angeles, California on June 26 and to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 5. These two deliveries will include in total approximately 320,000 pounds of Bubs Organic Infant Formula S1, Bubs Organic Follow On Formula S2, Bubs Supreme Infant Formula Supreme Follow On Formula, Bubs Goat Milk Infant Formula S1, Bubs Goat Milk Follow On Formula S2, the equivalent of approximately 5.5 million 8-ounce bottles. The product will be available through Target, Albertsons, Kroger, Walmart and other retailers.
In May, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the agency is exercising enforcement discretion so that Bubs Australia can export additional infant formula into the U.S. Bubs Australia will import both standard and specialty infant formulas to the U.S. including Bubs Organic Grass Fed, Bubs Supreme A2 Beta-Casein Protein and Bubs Easy-digest Goat Milk. Bubs plans to export approximately 27.5 million 8-ounce bottle equivalents into the U.S. market.
President Biden launched Operation Fly Formula to speed up the import of infant formula and start getting more formula to stores 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 store shelves faster. By June 26, Operation Fly Formula will have completed 32 flights and imported almost 19 million 8-ounce bottle equivalents of infant formula.
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.
