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Experts Say “Couple Months” Before Baby Formula Stock Rates Improve

Experts Say “Couple Months” Before Baby Formula Stock Rates Improve

The baby formula shortage continues despite the lack of media attention. Current estimates are for shelves to be full again by the end of August or early September

The national media has moved on from the baby formula shortage crisis, but the crisis continues.

Despite the Biden administration’s reverse “Berlin Airlift” formula, experts say it will be a couple of months before stock rates improve.

More than 21% of formula products — powder, ready-to-drink and liquid — were out of stock during the week ending June 19, compared with a typical rate of 10% before a nationwide infant formula recall by Abbott Nutrition happened in February.

Stock rates for powder formula, specifically, are even worse. More than 27% of powder formula products were out of stock during the week ending June 19, up from 25% the prior week and 23% the week before that, IRI data shows.
“Our goal remains ramping up supply and moving it to retail shelves and warehouses as quickly as possible,” Kevin Munoz, a White House spokesperson told CNN, citing Operation Fly Formula efforts along with ramp ups afforded by the Defense Protection Act and increased flexibilities from the US Food and Drug Administration.

The Operation Fly Formula deliveries are not enough to completely replenish formula supply — they cover just a few days of typical sales.

Current estimates are for shelves to be full again by the end of August or early September.

Meanwhile, the reverse Berlin Airlift continues.

A cargo plane from Germany landed at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, early Sunday, carrying more than 150,000 pounds of baby formula, according to a local report.

The shipment, part of President Biden’s “Operation Fly Formula” operation to address the baby formula shortage, landed just before 7 a.m. with 10,500 cases of formula – enough formula for 1.5 million bottles, KHOU-TV reported.

The cases will be transported to the Nestlé distribution center in Fort Worth, which will distribute the formula to retailers across the U.S.

Global companies that make baby formula are bringing products into the U.S. after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) relaxed its import policy to address the issue.

Unfortunately, scammers are taking advantage of desperate parents.

“One thing we see a lot of is people stealing other people’s photos of formula like in a house and saying, ‘Hey, I have this, I’m willing to ship it,’ and then they get your info, your address and then once you send the payment they never have it,” Jess Skalicky, a group moderator for Formula Finder – Minnesota said.

Michelle Grob, a mom from Champlin, never thought she’d be one to fall victim to a scam.

“No, I never thought that someone would stoop that low to scam people out of baby formula and money. Baby formula is so expensive to begin with,” Grob said.

…“She gave the background. Her sister had the formula and they were willing to ship it because it was such a far distance,” Grob said, adding that she and the woman talked back and forth over Facebook Messenger for hours.

Eventually, Grob decided to send the money, $170, and then the woman stopped responding.

“(She) just ghosted us. She blocked us on Facebook and the person we sent the money to blocked us as well,” Grob said.

It looks like it will be a long, hot summer for many parents with infants.

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Comments

taurus the judge | July 1, 2022 at 7:36 am

Its funny ( in a sad way) that there are still some people who believe that in any given crisis, there are not those who will use it to steal money- that fool and their money will always be parted.

On the other part ( supply shortages in general), remember this about these “shortages” being a well thought out deliberate act planned and engineered to bring about these end effects.

Take Baby Formula out and insert just about any manufactured product- it doesn’t change.

Any given product has “base components” and “finishing components to produce the end product. Both component classes by and large fit hundreds (if not thousands) of products so there are zillions of buyers vying for their “cup of sugar” to make their cake.

That’s fine till the sugar runs low. Then everybody has to cut back and the volume buyers get preference.

Since the 80’s when DFT, JIT and other models became the rage, our supply chain (from raw material to end user) has been designed for production over capacity. ( more lines versus bigger warehouses) with “storage” being defined in terms of usually a quarter (at best) estimated ( many less than that and obviously perishables having a different structure altogether that durables)

This model works very efficiently but is almost totally dependent on demand supply being on time and target. Disrupt the raw materials and you crash the system.

That’s exactly what the Covid stealth attack was designed to do. We were running off of stores which are now empty.

Trump, and people like me saw this coming and could tell it was not an accident. It was literally hit at every level of the raw material supply chain.

It will not ( and honestly cannot) end or right itself until that piece is restored.

    CommoChief in reply to taurus the judge. | July 1, 2022 at 10:40 am

    Yes indeed. Some of the formerly clueless group have gained a newfound appreciation of the hurdles in our supply chain, it’s inherent weaknesses, vulnerability to rapid shock and the fact that this system was deliberately designed to require willing participation and compliance of all Nations. If not it begins to break down.

    Sometimes referred to as the ‘international rules based order’ or more recently by the Biden WH as the liberal order. That’s why the Nations that set and enforce the rules of of the system, NATO and EU, are freaking out over Russia. They could care less about Ukraine what has their panties in a wad is the idea that Russia or other Nations might decide to act in their own best interests. The same reason these folks hated and were threatened by the emergence of Brexit, MAGA and DJT.

It used to be that Americans would set out to prove ‘the experts’ wrong.

The Gentle Grizzly | July 1, 2022 at 8:52 am

Experts? Or, “experts”?

Regulatory excess, to prove a negative, class action lawsuits, and a dearth of babies… baby formula.

An expert is a person carrying a brief case working more than 50 miles from home.

That this is a “crisis” mystifies me – as if the ONLY WAY TO FEED A BABY IS POWDERED/CANNED FORMULA.

In the 1950’s it was boil water, let it cool, mix in Karo syrup and unsweetened condensed milk to make 24 oz of “formula” – fill six 4 oz bottles and give the baby one bottle every 3-4 hours.

The site below suggests the process of weening a child begins early, by giving a (sterilized) bottle of water a few times per day, and even diluted orange juice.

https://dustyoldthing.com/1950s-homemade-formula-recipes/

This so-called “crisis” is just the unavailability of modern convenience. The old way still works.

I’m pretty sure there will be a disposable diaper shortage eventually, with the adoption of a green agenda to preserve trees and thereby reduce dependence on paper products. The hidden agenda would seem to be, discourage having babies by making their feeding and maintenance more costly and labor intensive.

    jb4 in reply to MrE. | July 1, 2022 at 1:04 pm

    Could that be why the Left is so angry over the Roe v Wade decision – making it a little less convenient to kill babies?

Ann in L.A. | July 1, 2022 at 12:58 pm

But, says the FDA, don’t you dare try to make a substitute at home!!! Just let your baby wait a couple months and feed them then. That will do!

Instead of helping parents with recipes and safety tips on making formula at home, the government has basically told parents to starve their kids.

    henrybowman in reply to Ann in L.A.. | July 1, 2022 at 5:31 pm

    It’s more probable that the FDA has entirely forgotten that theres a way to feed babies that doesn’t require crash programs and billion dollar giveaways to Big Pharma.

henrybowman | July 1, 2022 at 5:30 pm

“Experts Say “Couple Months” Before Baby Formula Stock Rates Improve”
No problem, just feed your babies extra in a couple months.
Your remaining babies, at any rate.
If you can’t do it right, you can always do it over.