Mead Johnson parent company shares how they are fighting formula shortage

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - 14 News continues to reach out to Reckitt Beckiser, the parent company of Evansville’s Mead Johnson, to learn more on their efforts to combat the formula shortage.

[President Biden announces steps to address nationwide baby formula shortage]

Tuesday, we received the follow statement:

We have taken a number of measures to help boost supply of infant formula, including running our factories 24/7, shipping over 30% more product in Q1, increasing our speed to market and focusing our production on those products and sizes that allow us to provide the most feedings to market. As a result of these efforts, we are currently feeding 200K more babies than we were prior to the recall. In addition, we are working in partnership with the Administration and FDA to identify other ways to help ensure parents and infants have a steady supply of safe, high-quality formula.

Actions taken:

We are operating our plants 24/7 to accommodate demand
We have shipped over 30% more product
We have creased resources in our manufacturing and warehouse operations
We are expediting order processing, to get more products into the hands of parents as quickly as possible
We are re-assigning shipment locations, to speed up distribution regardless of territory
We are sending out trucks with as much product as we have produced, rather than waiting until they’re entirely filled, to get the product on shelves faster

Partnerships

Our retail partners are now prioritizing our trucks at their distribution centers, helping to get formula on shelves 40% faster than before the recall.
We are working with the Administration to:
Ensure we have the raw materials necessary to manufacture greater volumes of formula
Expedite approval for new manufacturing capacity
Lower the barriers to help the neediest families obtain a greater range of formulas
We are working daily with state WIC agencies to ensure WIC consumers have access to product
Drop-shipped thousands of cases of product to local WIC clinics to address emergency situations