On Tuesday, the China State-affiliated media ridiculed the baby formula shortage situation that the United States is facing since January 2022. “The United States is busy quality checking the military arms and ammunitions, and planning to save other countries instead of focusing on the bad that is happening due to the formula shortage in its land”, the cartoon by China Daily roughly illustrated.
#ChinaDailyCartoon US quality control pic.twitter.com/uRSa5zCts9
— China Daily (@ChinaDaily) May 24, 2022
This is probably hours after Joe Biden’s statement in Tokyo over Taiwan. President Joe Biden on May 23 asserted that the US would militarily defend Taiwan if it came under attack from China. Speaking against the backdrop of growing concern over Chinese military activity in the region, Biden added that the US’s responsibility to protect the self-ruled island, which China considers a renegade province, was ‘even stronger’ after Russia invaded Ukraine.
“Any attempt by China to use force against Taiwan would just not be appropriate. It would dislocate the entire region and be another action similar to what happened in Ukraine”, said Biden. In response the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin slammed the US for interfering in the ‘internal affairs’ of China. “Taiwan issue is a purely internal affair for China. On issues touching on China’s core interests of the sovereignty and territorial integrity, China has no room for compromise or concession,” Wang said on Monday.
Baby formula shortage in USA
According to the reports, the US government on May 18 invoked the Defense Production Act to boost the production of baby formula and approved flights to bring infant formula from abroad amid a nationwide shortage.
It directed the infant formula manufacturers to prioritize and allocate the production of key infant formula inputs and asked the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture to use Department of Defense commercial aircraft to pick up overseas infant formula that meets US health and safety standards, so it can get to store shelves faster.
Reportedly, on May 22, the 35 tons shipment of baby formula arrived in Indianapolis on a US military aircraft from Germany. The shipment included 132 pallets of formula, which arrived on one C-17 cargo plane. The formula originated from Zurich, Switzerland, and was trucked to Germany, where it was loaded on the C-17 and flown to the US. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stated that Sunday’s shipment was the first of Operation Fly Formula and would provide enough formula for 9,000 babies and 18,000 toddlers for one week.
2008 melamine baby milk scandal in China
China had, in the year 2008 faced a major food safety scandal over baby milk. The 2008 incident, very well known as the Chinese milk scandal involved the supply of melamine adulterated Sanlu Group’s milk and infant formula along with other food materials and components, which resulted in kidney stones and other kidney damage in infants.
According to the reports, the chemical melamine was used to increase the nitrogen content of diluted milk, giving it the appearance of higher protein content to pass quality control testing. Around 3 lakh children were identified who were severely affected due to the adulterated supply and only 52,898 were hospitalized then.
The first case of the scandal was reported in December 2007 when the parents complained about an infant’s kidney stone problem. More complaints started to follow in the year 2008, leading to suspicions over Sanlu’s diluted milk. The Chinese government however revealed the scam in September 2008 and added that products from 21 other companies were also tainted, including those from Arla Foods–Mengniu, Yili, and Yashili. While several cases had reached the hospitals by December 2007, the first report to the government by any hospital was made only on July 16 and onwards.
China was then ridiculed for the concerns about food safety and political corruption that damaged the reputation of the country’s food exports. The World Health Organization had also condemned the scandal and had called the incident ‘deplorable’. More than 11 foreign countries had halted all kinds of imports of Chinese dairy products.
Baby Formula shortage
The United States has been experiencing a scarcity of baby formula, which has distressed parents. Many parents are finding it difficult to obtain baby formula thanks to a combination of short and long-term issues that have plagued most of the major US brands.
The majority of newborns in the United States rely on formula, which is the sole recommended source of nourishment for infants who are not completely breastfed. The problems with baby formula supply began last year when the Covid-19 epidemic impacted the whole economy. During the Covid-19 lockdowns, parents stockpiling formula packs drastically decreased the availability of baby formula. Supply disruptions and a recent safety recall have left numerous pharmacies and supermarkets out of stock.
At present, the baby formula that arrived on Saturday through the military planes aimed at relieving the shortage is still a worry for the parents as it contains formula packed with speciality hypoallergenic formula to be distributed through channels such as hospitals, doctors’ officers and pharmacies, for babies intolerant of the protein in cow’s milk. The formula contents have been rushed to health system outlets to feed babies only with specific allergies.
