PARSIPPANY, N.J., June 15, 2022 – Mead Johnson today received confirmation of import approval by way of an enforcement discretion letter from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to import the equivalent of 66 million 8-oz servings of base infant formula powder from Reckitt’s Tuas, Singapore, facility between now and November.
Reckitt will work closely with the Administration and Operation Fly Formula to ensure formula reaches families as quickly as possible. This additional supply would represent the biggest contribution yet from any manufacturer in solving the continuing infant formula shortage in the United States.
Pat Sly, President of Reckitt’s nutrition business, applauded the FDA for its approval decision which will enable Reckitt to feed more than 130,000 additional babies per month, on average.
We appreciate the action taken by the administration and the commitment to ensuring the high safety and quality standards of infant formula in the United States. We are thankful for the support from the government, our supply chain partners and employees globally, who have stepped up to enable us to take every measure we can to end this shortage as quickly as possible.
"The FDA’s import approval, along with the Defense Production Act, assists us in drastically increasing our supply to help more formula reach store shelves and the parents who need it.”
Today’s announcement will enable Reckitt to complete the final stage of product readiness for the U.S. market and we will:
- Provide 190 metric tons of infant formula base powder from our Tuas facility in Singapore which will be blended and packaged in the U.S. This would be the equivalent of 5.9 million 8-oz servings, which we anticipate will be available in the coming weeks.
- Prioritize channels that are available to parents who qualify for the Special Supplemental Nutrition
- Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and are among the most vulnerable in this shortage.
Supply 500 metric tons per month by October through the Tuas facility. This would be the equivalent of 15.5 million 8-oz servings.
To date, our ongoing efforts to increase access to infant formula include:
- Operating our plants 24/7
- Streamlining our product portfolio to maximize production capacity
- Working with the United States government on securing additional manufacturing inputs and unlocking further capacity from our Delicias, Mexico facility
- Partnering with retailers to expedite orders and trucks and prioritizing formula at their distribution centers to fill shelves more quickly
- Dispatching product as soon as we have verified the quality and safety needed to meet the high standard for the sole source of nutrition
- Feeding an additional 211,000 more babies than before the shortage