RFK, Jr., Wants to Make Baby Formula Safer, but Trump Budget Cuts Imperil That Effort
A new Trump administration health initiative called Operation Stork Speed aims to improve the safety of infant formula and reduce contamination risk, but budget and staffing cuts may hinder that
Earlier this week the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Food and Drug Administration announced a new initiative aimed at improving the safety and quality of infant formula. Dubbed Operation Stork Speed—likely a reference to the first Trump administration’s COVID vaccine program Operation Warp Speed—the program aims to increase testing for heavy metals and other contaminants.
In addition, the announcement said the FDA will launch a comprehensive update and review of infant formula nutrients, the first such effort by the agency since 1998, according to the announcement. It also said that the FDA will expand formula importation policies and work to achieve greater transparency in the formula market. And the agency plans to work with the National Institutes of Health and other research organizations to study the short- and long-term effects of formula feeding on infant and child health.
“The FDA will use all resources and authorities at its disposal to make sure infant formula products are safe and wholesome for the families and children who rely on them,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in the announcement. “Helping each family and child get off to the right start from birth is critical to our pursuit to Make America Healthy Again.”
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But the Trump administration’s cuts to the FDA and other government agencies could make it hard to ensure the safety of food in general, let alone that of infant formulas.
What Prompted It
There have been a couple of high-profile incidents of bacterial contamination in infant formulas in recent years. In 2022 Abbott detected contamination at one of its formula manufacturing plants, which led to a recall and national shortage of the vital source of newborn nutrition. And in 2023 Reckitt/Mead Johnson Nutrition recalled one of its formulas. These companies are two of the largest formula producers.
Earlier this week, Consumer Reports published an analysis of 41 formula products that found that many of them contained concerning levels of heavy metals, such as arsenic and lead, as well as so-called forever chemicals (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS). The analysis also determined one product contained two chemicals found in plastic, including bisphenol A (BPA). “It’s obviously a product for a very vulnerable population at an age where their brains and their bodies are still developing. And there is plenty of data to show that some of these chemicals can interfere with that process at a young age,” says Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports. Some of these chemicals are found naturally in the environment, but in the analysis, certain brands contained more of them than others. “The good news is, though, that there are a number of brands and options that are available to parents that have low readings of these chemicals,” Ronholm says.
Ronholm notes that the timing of the HHS and FDA’s announcement suggests it was likely made in response to these data “because we had shared the results with them on Monday,” he says. Ronholm adds that the agency’s intended actions are encouraging but only if they are implemented. “There is a risk of this becoming a false promise, especially if the current trend of additional budget cuts, additional staffing cuts across government agencies continues. That really puts this plan into jeopardy,” he says.
Beyond contamination, Kennedy has also taken aim at formulas’ nutritional content. In a meeting earlier this week with the country’s biggest formula producers, first reported by Bloomberg, he specifically called out the use of seed oils, which he has claimed are unhealthy despite little clear evidence of harm. Others studies have documented the high added sugar content in formulas—sugar is often one of the first listed ingredients.
More about RFK, Jr.’s Policies
Kennedy has made nutrition and food additives a central part of his mission to “Make America Healthy Again.” Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods pose health risks for chronic disease, and California has proposed legislation to restrict their use in school lunches. The FDA recently banned the artificial dye Red No. 3 because studies showed it caused cancer in animals. (This has not been shown in humans, however.)
But experts say many of Kennedy’s policy positions, including his long-standing opposition to vaccines, are dangerous—especially as the country battles a growing measles outbreak that has killed two people, including a child. Kennedy has also made troubling statements about letting H5N1 avian influenza rip through poultry farms to identify birds that are immune, which scientists say would be devastating to flocks and also ineffective. Bird flu has swept through U.S. dairy cattle and poultry farms since last year, causing egg prices to spike and raising fears of a potential pandemic.
