It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Operation Stork Speed

On March 18, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched a significant initiative called Operation Stork Speed to bolster the availability and safety of infant formula in the United States (link, link).  This initiative seeks to address the ongoing challenges families face in ensuring they have access to safe, reliable, and nutritious infant formula and is described by HHS Secretary Kennedy as critical to the pursuit of Make America Healthy Again.

Enhancing Infant Formula Safety and Quality

As explained in the joint HHS/FDA press release, FDA’s primary goal is to ensure that infant formula products are safe, of high nutritional value, and consistently available for families that rely on them, and FDA is committed to providing caregivers the confidence that the formula their children consume is wholesome and nourishing during critical stages of development.

Key Actions Under Operation Stork Speed

In the announcement, FDA briefly outlined the following six key actions it plans to undertake under Operation Stork Speed.  Presumably, details will follow as each action gets further underway.  Specific timelines were not provided.

1. Nutrient Review:  FDA is launching the first comprehensive review of infant formula nutrients since 1998.  This review will help update the nutrient requirements for infant formulas, ensuring they meet the evolving needs of infants.
2. Increased Testing for Contaminants:  To enhance safety, FDA will increase testing for heavy metals and other contaminants in infant formula, as well as other foods commonly consumed by young children.
3. Policy Extensions:  FDA is extending its personal importation policy, offering families more options for sourcing safe infant formula from trusted global suppliers.
4. Encouraging Transparency:  FDA is working closely with manufacturers to ensure clearer labeling and increased transparency regarding ingredients and nutritional information on formula packaging.
5. Open Communication:  To further bolster transparency, FDA will regularly correspond with consumers and industry stakeholders to announce important developments related to infant formula, including information regarding nutrients and health outcomes.
6. Collaboration with Research Bodies:  FDA is collaborating with the National Institutes of Health and other scientific organizations to address research gaps in formula feeding and its long-term health impacts on infants and children.

HHS and FDA state that the animating reasons for Operation Stork Speed are to ensure that infant formula is not only safe but also continuously available, providing families with peace of mind that their infants receive the essential nutrients they need to thrive.  Curiously, the announcements make no reference to the Long-Term National Strategy to Increase the Resiliency of the U.S. Infant Formula Market that FDA announced in January.

At present, it’s not clear how Operation Stork Speed will be implemented in light of ongoing attrition in FDA’s Human Foods Program and the competing food-related priorities that are being teed up by Secretary Kennedy.  We will continue to monitor Operation Stork Speed’s progress and report on any further developments.